It's a Rich Man's World
by thatgleekychick
Summary: What happens when you have everything to gain and even more to lose? When Kurt Hummel, a waiter with dreams of Broadway, meets Blaine Anderson, a NYC stockbroker on his way to the top, the attraction is instant. But they come from two seemingly different worlds. Through each other they learn that there is more than one way to be wealthy, and not all of them involve money. AU.
1. Chapter 1

I'm baaaack! So this story wasn't supposed to happen, but once again, some surprise inspiration had let me here. (Blame **LauGS** for making me want stockbroker!Blaine and waiter!Kurt so much I had to write it myself) So sit back, relax, enjoy the show, and please let me know what you think! I have chapter 2 almost done so if you guys like this, I'll have this up and ready by next weekend!

PS: The restaurant name in here is real, and I may keep looking at their menu. But I don't own it and it's probably nothing like the real place because it's a fancy restaurant and I don't know anything about fancy restaurants...or the stock exchange...(a lot of research goes into this fic). I also own none of these characters.

Ok, I'm shutting up now...

* * *

Kurt Hummel would never call himself a starving artist. His pantry may have been mostly occupied with Raman Noodles, Spaghetti-o's and other non-perishables, but he wasn't starving. Maybe he struggled to make ends meet, but he'd only been late on his rent payment twice in the two years since he'd been out of college. The New York Academy of Dramatic Arts was expensive and there were student loans that need to be paid off, but he had dreams of belting out a show stopping number in the center of a Broadway stage, and when he made it, every penny would be worth it. But his talents, while bountiful, were unique. So until he managed to find the perfect part, the perfect show, the perfect place in the world, he would have to make do with this thirty-five to forty hours a week, making two pennies more than minimum wage, running around taking orders, literally, from the high priced diners, as a waiter at Minetta Tavern. It was nowhere near his dream job, but all he needed was to something that paid the bills and gave him enough time off to audition for whatever he could get booked. And Minetta met all his needs.

On this particular Tuesday night, the restaurant was unusually busy. It wasn't a night anyone would consider date night, nor was it one of those Hallmark contrived holidays that forced everyone to go out on extravagant dates that were completely unnecessary. But Kurt had been running around like a chicken with his head cut off since the moment he clocked in. There were wine and water glasses to be filled, orders to be taken before he dropped them off at the kitchen and plates that needed to arrive at their correct destination while they were still hot.

When Kurt found a surely short lull in his hectic evening, he took advantage and leaned against the bar talking quietly to Puck, the bartender, while sipping on a glass of water. He only had about thirty seconds to spare before he needed to be back out on the floor, filling glasses, taking dishes, handing out checks, collecting tips. He was just about to remove himself from the bar and from the horrid story Puck was telling him about the girl he'd hooked up with in high school, when Kurt's eye caught the door to the restaurant as it opened and the most breathtaking man he'd ever seen walked through.

The man was about Kurt's age, although he was about the same height as their hostess, Santana, since she had on her extra high heels on. His hair was a rich chocolate color, but was, much to Kurt's chagrin, held tightly to his head with far too much product. Like most of the restaurant's patrons, he was dressed sharply in his black suit jacket that fit perfectly over his broad shoulders and his white shirt that was wonderfully accompanied by a tie that was striped with multiple shades of purple. The man was simply stunning and definitely knew how to put himself together nicely. Behind the handsome stranger stood a taller man, and much older too. He was at least twice the age of the stranger, his hair gone completely silver and cut short to his head.

"Your drooling Hummel," Puck said, "And I'm pretty sure that old couple at table seven is getting antsy."

Kurt pulled himself out of the trance he couldn't even pretend he wasn't in making sure to check his face to make sure that Puck hadn't been serious. Luckily, his face was spit free.

"I've got two more for you, Kurt," Santana called as he walked away to check on table seven.

Once he was sure that the nice elderly couple from table seven was happy (and it was their fortieth wedding anniversary, how could they possibly be anything but?) Kurt took the notepad from the front pocket of the black apron tied around his waist and headed toward where the handsome stranger and his rather grumpy looking companion sat.

"Good evening. I'm Kurt. Can I start you gentleman off with something to drink?" Kurt said as he pulled the pen from behind his ear, clicking it against his hip to expose the ballpoint.

They ordered wine, and when Kurt came back a moment later with a bottle of 2007 Nosotros, they ordered their meals. The grumpy man ordered the veal, and it was as his handsome stranger was reciting his order that Kurt noticed that he had had the most mesmerizing honey colored eyes. He could definitely see himself getting lost in them. Kurt forced himself to focus and even read back the order from his notepad to make sure that he hadn't missed something while he tried to not look the handsome stranger directly in the eye. With a smile on his face and dazed look in his eye, Kurt went immediately to put the order in with the kitchen before continuing to race around the floor to fill glasses and pick up bills and collect a couple generous ups (one from the happily married old couple), his eyes floating occasionally over to his handsome stranger who was speaking to the his grumpy friend while making wild gestures with his hands. Kurt had never found a customer so endearing before.

Kurt wasn't one to let himself eaves drop on the patrons as they sat and had their personal conversations over dinner, but Kurt couldn't help the way his ears opened each time he walked past the table with his handsome stranger; it was then that Kurt heard the grumpy man address his stranger as Mr. Anderson. Well at least it wasn't a date, Kurt thought, and almost immediately stopped dead in his tracks because of it. It was one thing to oggle Mr. Anderson while he waited for his dinner to be ready, noticing the way he supped one his wine while keeping his posture completely straight and his eye contact on the other gentleman; it was completely different to get jealous, or he would have gotten jealous if it had been a date, over a man he'd never even really met. Doing that was insane, and was a new low, even for Kurt who had spent the last six years that he'd been in New York falling hopelessly for men who wanted many different things than Kurt did. Kurt wanted nothing more than to find his fairytale; the prince he could ride off into the sunset with. But that seemed too difficult for most men.

Kurt rushed over to the kitchen to check on the food for Mr. Anderson's table to find the kitchen assistant putting the plates out as he approached. He grabbed them, turned back around and maneuvered his way through the tables until he reached his destination.

"Here we go," Kurt said as he placed the two plates down in front of their respective owners. Their glasses were still both half full so Kurt placed a couple of extra napkins on the table and scurried away after telling them to enjoy their meal.

He hadn't gone more than three steps when a voice called out to him, "Waiter, excuse me. But you've given me the wrong order."

Kurt spun around immediately and walked back over to the table. The voice had come from the companion of his handsome stranger. He looked down at the man's plate, recalling what he'd written down on the ticket, knowing that it matched the dish in front of him. Kurt had been working at this restaurant for two years, and never once had he screwed up an order. He was sure that not even the face of an incredibly handsome man would have broken his impeccable record.

"I ordered the mignon, well done," the man said in response to Kurt's silence, "this is veal."

Kurt knew there was no way that the order was incorrect. But the number one rule of customer service was that the customer was always right, and avoiding confrontation, Kurt forced a smile and grabbed the plate from in front of the man, "I'll go speak to the kitchen staff right away. I'll have the mignon right up."

Kurt pushed his way into the kitchen through a pair of wooden swinging doors. Once inside, he dropped the plate of veal onto to the counter and the clatter echoed over the sizzle of the stove. He rushed over to look at the order ticket he'd placed. It clearly said veal. Thankful that, at least for his knowledge, this hadn't been an error on his part, Kurt immediately walked over to Tina, the head cook that night.

"Tina, I need you to make me a plate of the mignon and I need you to do it as fast as you possibly can," Kurt said in a rush.

"And what makes this steak so important," Tina questioned as she walked over to him wiping her hands on her apron.

"Just do it, please," Kurt begged, "I'll owe you a shopping trip, just please do it."

Tina nodded with a smile and turned around to get to work. Kurt took a deep breath before he went back on the floor. He had other tables he needed to tend to and he couldn't let this little hiccup get him down. He was Kurt Hummel; he'd dealt with much worse than angry customers in his life. By the time the night was over the whole thing would have been forgotten. Besides, there were still three hours left in his shift and there was a line outside the door. He didn't have time to worry or he'd certainly actually make a mistake.

Kurt continued to rush around the floor, purposely avoiding Mr. Anderson's table for fear of his boss or business partner or whoever the older man was. It was terribly rude, yes, but Kurt didn't have much to offer in the form of compensation other than 'it'll be right up' until Tina finished work her magic. Twenty minutes after he'd first rushed in, Kurt ran back into the kitchen only to have Tina thrust a perfectly cooked filet mignon into his hand. He observed the dish to make sure it was exactly as the man had told him then immediately rushed it out to the waiting table.

Apologizing for the wait, Kurt set the plate down in front of the older man, feeling guilty because it seemed the allusive Mr. Anderson hadn't touched his food and it was probably well on his way to being cold.

"Enjoy your meal," Kurt said softly, unsure what to say and knowing that he at least owed these men a discount for his inconvenience. He'd really been lucky making it this long without a disgruntled customer, but there was nothing to prepare Kurt for what happened next.

"This is ludicrous," a voice boomed startling Kurt as he turned around to find the older man standing now, his chair pushed far behind him.

Kurt took the few steps that separated him and the table where Mr. Anderson was sitting, wide eyed but quiet as his companion continued shouting, "How incompetent are you people? First you bring me the wrong dish, and then you make me wait twenty minutes for a new dish only to find that you've completely fucked that up as well."

Living in New York for so long had made Kurt immune to foul language, but the man's words felt like a slap on the face. But he knew that he had written both of those orders down perfectly, and he'd double checked it to make sure it was correct before he brought it out. There was no way that the plate of food was anything less than exactly like the man had ordered it.

"Sir, with all due respect, your order is exactly as you placed it. I spoke to the cook specifically. I checked it before I brought it to you."

"Well, while I applaud your efforts young man, this is still wrong."

"What's wrong with it?" Kurt questioned, abandoning the customer service motto. Sometimes the customers weren't right. Sometimes they were just assholes.

Kurt hated how high his temper was flaring; especially since they had an audience. Everyone in the restaurant was watching Kurt and this man (mostly Kurt), waiting with baited breath to find out who was in the right and who was wrong. Kurt knew he was right; he knew he had been right the first time.

"I specifically asked for it to be medium rare. This meat is over cooked. And this sauce—"

"There's nothing wrong with the sauce," Kurt challenged. He'd had enough.

"Why don't you taste it and tell me there is nothing wrong it?"

Kurt opened his mouth to respond but when he felt something wet hit his face the words disappeared from his tongue. Wiping hesitantly at his face, Kurt realized that some of the sauce that had just a minute ago been sitting on the man's plate was now on his face, sliding down his skin.

"Let's go Anderson," the man said before he stormed past a shocked, quiet Kurt who couldn't do anything but stand there, jaw slacked, barely noticing Mr. Anderson get up and follow the gentleman out of the restaurant.

* * *

Kurt sat down five minutes before the restaurant closed at one of the tables by the door. Once he'd washed the sauce and embarrassment from his face, Kurt spent the rest of the night overthinking, double checking, and taking much longer than he should've to get things complete. But at least everyone's order was correct and eventually only the staff knew what had happened to him. It was a perk of his job, only having to deal with people for so long. He knew that the incident with the man wasn't his fault. That he'd done his job properly. And Trent, the manager on duty, let him know that he didn't fault Kurt for anything, and that he knew Kurt worked hard and was liked by many of the regulars. But that didn't stop the whole thing from gnawing away at Kurt. Even if he was right, he'd been humiliated.

It had been the moment that defined his whole night. The rest of the night had gone rather well, but because of one moment, the night would be remembered as a complete disaster. In a matter of forty-five minutes he managed to go from getting the chance to lay his eyes on the very attractive Mr. Anderson, to getting shouted at in front of fifty people. And the only thing he could do was move on because he knew that he'd dealt with worse. Back in Ohio, when the words from the still unnamed man's mouth would be considered kind, he'd dealt with the narrow-minded, ignorant whispers, the bullying and the death threats. And he managed to get through that, mostly with his head held high. Maybe he'd cry later when he tucked himself into bed after Santana bugged him for an hour to make sure he was okay. But for now, he just had to get through the rest of his shift with a smile on his face.

He heard the door to the restaurant open behind him and he rolled his eyes. They were literally moments away from locking the doors and another customer, if they chose to stay, meant at least another hour before they could close everything up. But Trent always made it clear that they would serve anyone who walked in the doors before they were locked. He heard Santana greet the customer and after a deep breath, preparing to treat the last customer like the first, Kurt stood to go grab his order pad from by the bar; but when he turned to glance at the customer he was surprised to find Mr. Anderson standing there, looking at him.

"I'd like to apologize," Mr. Anderson said walking past Santana until he was standing right in front of a confused Kurt, "For the way that my friend, well he's not really my friend, acted tonight. It was completely uncalled for and he, I mean we, shouldn't have stormed out of here without paying the bill. I shouldn't have allowed that to happen. So, I'd like pay the bill for tonight. For all three dishes that needed to be made."

"It's already been taken care of," Kurt said.

"No, please let me do this," Mr. Anderson said, his voice a soft melody to Kurt's ears, "If for no other reason than to clear my conscience."

Kurt laughed and then surrendered, "Okay, let me just go pull up the bill."

Mr. Anderson smiled at Kurt. It was a bright, toothy smile that instantly caused Kurt's heart rate to pick up. Because not only was Mr. Anderson incredibly attractive, but he seemed to be a pretty decent human being. He'd never expected to see either gentleman at the restaurant ever again, but Mr. Anderson was there, paying for a bill and apologizing for something he didn't even do. Once Kurt managed to pull himself from his thoughts about how perfect this stranger seemed to be, he walked over to the computer, Mr. Anderson following close behind.

Kurt punched the order into the computer, feeling Mr. Anderson's eyes on him. They were quiet as Kurt worked quickly.

"I'm Blaine, by the way. Blaine Anderson."

Kurt looked up from the screen where he had just been giving Mr. Anderson, Mr. _Blaine_ Anderson, a discount for coming back, to find that Blaine's hand had been extended towards him.

Kurt clasped his hand with Blaine's and shook it ignoring how warm Blaine's hands felt or how perfect them seemed to fit, "Kurt Hummel."

"Alright, Kurt Hummel, now that I finally know your name, why don't you have dinner with me tomorrow night?"

Blaine's boldness shocked Kurt. It had been a long time since anyone had asked him out on a date, and even longer since it had been by someone who had enthralled him the way that Blaine had.

"Oh, wow, uh," Kurt stammered, "I have to work until close."

"Then the next night, or the one after that," Blaine said eagerly.

"You're serious?"

"Absolutely. It's the least I can do to pay you back for the trouble that went through tonight."

"You don't have to."

"I want to," Blaine said, "Plus you're pretty cute."

Kurt blushed furiously. It had been a long time since someone other than Santana had said that to him and it was the last thing that he'd expected to pass through Blaine's lips.

"It was 104.64," Kurt said ignoring Blaine's proposal.

"Right," Blaine said digging into the back pocket of his pants pulling out his brown leather wallet, opening the fold and grabbing the green AMEX and handing it to Kurt.

Kurt swiped the card, keeping his eyes and mind as far away from Blaine until the receipt printed and he handed the slip and a pen to Blaine, their fingers brushing for a millisecond. But even that brief touch sent something warm and intense through his entire body. Kurt tried to focus on anywhere but in Blaine's direction while he signed the receipt.

"Here you go," Blaine said, handing back the receipt and if you asked Kurt, he made sure their skin made contact again, "And, uh, here is my number. Let me know when your free and we'll go to dinner. Not here of course, but some place nice."

Blaine extended a tiny piece of card stock toward Kurt who took it between his fingers. Kurt could only nod, unsure of the ways his voice would betray him if he decided to speak. This was the first time in his life the cute boy from across the room had approached him and not the other way around. The first time, especially since it had been almost a year since he'd had more than an awkward date that Santana set him up on, that Kurt felt wanted. And all of it was thanks to a handsome stranger and his asshole of a dinner date.

"I'll, uh, give you a call," Kurt said because he couldn't just stand there silent any longer.

"Great," Blaine said, the smile on his face growing with Kurt's words, "I look forward to it. Now if you'll excuse me, I should get going and I'm sure you guys want to close this place down."

"Yeah," Kurt said, "Sure."

"I look forward to your call," Blaine said placing a hand on top of Kurt's biceps and flashing that killer smile once again in Kurt's direction.

Unable to speak, Kurt could only watch as Blaine removed his hand, then turned around and walked back out of the restaurant passing Santana who could only watch with her jaw somewhere down on the floor.

* * *

"Are you actually going to call him?" Santana asked once they'd gotten home and were comfortably seated next to each other to catch up on a little DVR before one or both of them fell asleep on the couch.

"I don't know," Kurt said sinking down deeper into the cushions.

"He was hot," Santana said with her eyes focused on the television.

"Santana!"

"What?" Santana asked turning to finally look at him, "Just because I prefer my lovers a little curvier, and, you know, female, doesn't mean that I can't appreciate a piece of man candy when I see one."

"You're ridiculous," Kurt said folding his arms across his chest.

"And you will be too if you don't call the guy. I mean that old dude made a fool of you in front of the restaurant and he's the one that came back to apologize and to pay."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "That doesn't mean I'm willing to date a customer. He left me a fifty dollar tip. I feel like he's paying me to go out with him."

"Who cares? How else, my dearest Hummel, are you ever going to find a date? You haven't had a boy toy in how long now? Don't you think you deserve to have a night where you let a hot guy treat you like a prince? And then later you can come back here and let him worship your—"

"Do not finish that sentence, Santana," Kurt warned.

"I'm just saying. It's not healthy to go too long without loving from someone other than your hand."

"He asked me to dinner. That's all."

"Dinner could lead to numerous things including coming back here on Friday night because I also have a date that evening and I don't intend on coming home until the sun is coming up. And I won't say a word when he comes out of your bedroom Saturday morning. As long as he doesn't walk around naked. I don't take my Cheerios with testicles."

"You're incredible."

"Thank you," Santana said grabbing Kurt's phone from where it sat next to hers between them, "Did you already put his number in your phone? What was his name Bryan?"

"Blaine," Kurt said reaching for his phone, but Santana just moved it out of the way, "Give me my phone."

"Give me a minute," Santana said, tapping something out on the screen.

"Santana, it's after midnight, what are you doing?"

"It's never too late for a text message. If he's up, he can go to sleep happy. If he's not, he'll wake up, hopefully in a few hours, and be a happy man because Kurt Hummel has agreed to go out with him."

"I hate you."

"Love you too Kurtsie," Santana said tossing the phone back into Kurt's lap.

Kurt examined his phone, reading over the text that 'he'd' sent a text to Blaine proposing a date Friday night. A minute later his phone buzzed in his lap. He glared at the smug smile on Santana's face and opened the new text message.

_7 it is. Text me your address :)_

Emoticons and everything. What had he just gotten himself into?


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for reading! You guys are great! **

* * *

Sometime around six o'clock Friday evening a loud, frustrated sigh escaped Kurt's lips and echoed throughout his apartment. Kurt had always been very fashion conscious. If performing hadn't been the thing that kept his heart beating, he would be making attempts at working at places like Vogue instead of waiting tables. But Defying Gravity always won against Marc Jacobs. However, none of that mattered because Kurt absolutely couldn't decide on what to wear on his date with Blaine.

"Having trouble?" Santana asked walking into Kurt's room and leaning against the door frame. She was still dressed in her yoga pants and a t-shirt, her date wasn't until later, but she was staying home to make sure that Blaine knew the rules when he came to pick Kurt up. Kurt was absolutely terrified as to what Santana's rules could possibly be.

"I don't know what to wear," Kurt said sitting down at the edge of the bed.

"It's easy. Super tight pants, those boots that you love, and that purple shirt. Put leave a couple of buttons open so that Mr. Hottie can fantasize about nibbling at your collar bone after dessert."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Kurt said before adding, "Except I think I'll add a black skinny tie."

"All the better for him to drag you to the bedroom with my dear," Santana sang.

"The way that you're obsessed with my sex life is surprising," Kurt said standing back up and beginning to sift through the pile of clothes on his bed, "considering you have a fairly healthy one of your own."

"Just looking out for my bestie," Santana said pushing herself away from the doorframe, "Now get dressed, I'll be back in fifteen to determine how fuckable you look."

Santana shut the door behind her and Kurt went to work on getting dressed, beginning by squeezing himself into the tightest black pants that he owned. He stood in front of the mirror and examined himself in his full-length mirror and couldn't deny that the pants fit him very well. He'd never been one to think of himself as, as Santana put it, fuckable, but he knew that the pants outlined his features enough to capture the attention of the gay men in a room. But tonight, he only wanted Blaine's attention.

Maybe he was thinking into the whole situation far too much. Maybe it was because Santana kept bringing up the possibility of dating someone long term for the first time in a long while. But there was something sitting inside him that made him giddy and hopeful for the first time in too long. But Kurt was well aware that this was only a first date. He knew nothing about Blaine and it was very possible that they could sit down at dinner and start talking and it would become clear to Kurt that Blaine wasn't someone he'd want to go out with again. Maybe Blaine had a weird fascination with Star Wars or lived with his parents or had some kind of terrible body odor that Kurt hadn't noticed the other night. There had to be a catch. Gorgeous men didn't just fall into Kurt Hummel's lap.

Twenty minutes later, Santana returned to Kurt's bedroom, walking in without knocking dressed for the evening in a green dressed that hugged her curves as she sat down at the edge of Kurt's bed, watching him as he put the finishing touches on his hair.

Once he was done Santana exclaimed, "Me gusta," before standing up from the bed.

"I'm glad you approve," Kurt said turning to face her.

"Now listen," Santana said walking over to stand in front of Kurt, placing her hands on his shoulders, "I know I've been a little intense lately but please know that it comes from a place of caring. I just want to see you happy and Brice—"

"Blaine," Kurt corrected.

"Blaine," Santana continued, "could be the one to do that."

"It's a first date. We can talk about happy if I get a second."

"He's an idiot if he doesn't take you out for the rest of his life."

"Now you're jumping too far ahead of everything. One night at a time."

"You're right. Now how do I look?" Santana said spinning around.

"Like the best kind of sin."

"That's what I like to hear," Santana said, "Now let's see what's on TV until your boy comes knockin'."

* * *

The second the little hand on the clock hit seven, Santana started mumbling about castrating Blaine if he was late or had stood Kurt up. But a second later, there was a knock on the door. He was prompt. Point for Blaine Anderson. Kurt shot Santana a look before she jumped off the couch to answer to answer the door while Kurt took one last look in the mirror to make sure the last half an hour on the couch hadn't completely wrinkled his outfit and that his hair was still just the right amount of coiffed.

Santana greeted Blaine (politely) before stepping aside to let Blaine into the apartment. Once he was inside, Kurt had to keep his jaw from dropping and the drool from starting to pour out of his mouth. Because if Kurt thought Blaine looked good the night they met, that fact had only multiplied now. Blaine was dressed much more casual than he had been at the restaurant in his dark blue jeans and black loafers. He'd ditched the dress shirt and neck tie for a maroon cardigan over a white shirt.

"Am I overdressed?" Kurt questioned, "We didn't really talk about the dress code."

"No," Blaine said slowly clearly taking in the outfit that Kurt and Santana had created, "No, you're perfect. I mean, uh, you look great."

"Thank you," Kurt said as the heat began to rise to his cheeks.

"Should we go?"

"Have him home by midnight otherwise he'll turn into a pumpkin," Santana said trying her best to sound like a parental figure. All she needed was a ball cap and a closet full of flannel shirts and she'd have Burt Hummel to a T.

" ," Kurt said guiding Blaine out of the apartment and into the hallway.

They were quiet until they were half way down the hall; far enough so that Santana wouldn't hear them.

They were quiet until they were halfway down the hall, until Kurt knew that Santana wouldn't be able to hear them from where he knew she was perched in front of the door.

Kurt turned towards Blaine, "So where are we going?"

"I told you," Blaine said with a smile, repeating what he'd told Kurt at Minetta and in a couple of text messages, "Somewhere nice."

When Blaine said somewhere nice, what he'd meant was Delmonico's. Kurt had been there only once before for a reception for a friend's wedding, mostly because his tastes were much simpler and his wallet recoiled at the idea of spending thirty dollars on an entrée when he could get a burger at McDonalds for a dollar.

One thing Kurt hated about going to other restaurants: he was constantly critiquing the wait staff. But the hostess was kind as she led them to the cozy little booth in the corner. When their waitress appeared the wine was ordered and the usually uncomfortable and awkward first date conversation began.

"Okay," Kurt said, "So I have to ask. Who was that guy that you were with? At the restaurant."

"A potential client," Blaine said folding his hands together on top of the table.

"Did you sign him or whatever?"

"Nope."

"Was that my fault?"

"No, not at all. I apparently couldn't see the big picture as vividly as he did."

"Are you an artist?"

Blaine laughed, "No, financial advisor. I work for Edward Jones."

"Oh."

"Good oh or bad oh?"

"Just oh. I've never gone out with a stock broker before."

"Well, I already know what you do, but is that what you really want to do for the rest of your life? Wait on angry old men who I'm pretty sure are homophobic?"

"No," Kurt explained pushing aside Blaine's assumption about the grumpy man in the restaurant. It was over and there was no use getting upset again because of it, "I want to act, to perform, on Broadway. I graduated from NYADA with a degree in musical theatre."

"And why aren't you out there winning a Tony yet?"

"Because my talents are…unique. So I wait tables until I find something that fits who am I."

"You're very confident in who you are," Blaine commented, "I like that about you."

Kurt's cheeks turned red, "So, what do you do for fun?"

"Fun?" Blaine questioned.

"Yes, fun. That thing that keeps us from being boring. You do have fun don't you?"

Blaine laughed, "I don't know. On the occasional day off I like to read a book or if the theatre is playing an old movie or something I'll go check it out."

"Ooo, an intellect."

"I wouldn't go that far," Blaine chuckled, "But when I do have some time off, it's usually spent catching up on the work I didn't get to finish during the week."

"That sounds stressful."

"If I want to be my own boss by the time I'm thirty, it has to be. Plus, my company has high expectations. We need to come in Monday morning ready to hit the ground running and you can't do that if you spent the weekend at least partially submersed in your work. Plus, I'm still rather new. I've got a lot to prove and that means taking clients out to dinner at nice restaurants and trying to convince them that I'm the right person for the job. And hope they don't harass the wait staff. I suppose it's a good thing that Mr. Dawson chose to pass on me. I don't know what he would have done if he knew I was gay."

"Are you not out?" Kurt asked.

"I don't hide anything. If someone asks me, I'm not going to lie to them. Most of the guys I work with know. But I learned shortly after I realized that I was gay that it's better if I not wear it on my sleeve. Besides, it's not something that should define the work I do, so if it might potentially upset clients, there's no need to bring it up."

"I guess that makes sense."

When the waitress arrived with their wine, they both ordered but immediately dove back into conversation once the waitress had left to go put in the ticket for their order.

"What about you?" Blaine asked, "How did coming out go for you?"

"Coming out was easy. Being out was not. My dad, who is everything to me, just told me that he knew and that it was okay. He's a real man's man, a mechanic, so I think maybe he didn't really understand it, but he accepted it, and me. It was rocky for a little while but we worked through it."

"And your mom?"

"She died when I was eight."

"Oh, wow. I feel like a jerk. I'm sorry."

"You're not a jerk. You didn't know; you couldn't. I can, as you said, wear my sexuality on my sleeve if I please. But there is nothing that can warn anyone about that."

"But you said being out was hard? What made it so hard?"

"Ohio isn't the most open-minded of states."

"Ohio?" Blaine interrupted, "I'm from Westerville."

"Lima," Kurt said, "What a small world. You were what, two hours away?"

"Something like that," Blaine answered, "I shouldn't have interrupted. Go on."

"Anyway, the kids at my high school were just the same as everyone else. I was teased, bullied, voted prom queen."

"No way," Blaine said with wide eyes.

"I've got pictures to prove it."

"That's remarkable," Blaine said, "Not that it happened to you. But that got through it. A lot of people like use have a hard time dealing with all of that in high school."

"I mean, sure, it was devastating some days. But it only made my determination to get out of Lima stronger. None of that would stop me from getting out of there and making a name for myself."

"That's actually really inspiring, Kurt."

When their food came, they continued to talk while they were eating. It was mostly the normal first date conversation, but Kurt felt so comfortable talking to Blaine. The last time he'd brought up Mamma Mia up to a date, the guy didn't know anything about it. Kurt had been shocked that a gay man living in New York hadn't at least heard of the musical or at least seen the movie. But with Blaine bringing up the show only sparked a conversation about Meryl Streep which spiraled into a ten minute conversations in itself. They had a lot in common both in movies and music. Both were longtime subscribers to Vogue. It was great getting to know Blaine.

When the bill came, Blaine waved off all the advances that Kurt made to at least pay for his part of the bill.

"I asked you to dinner. That means I get to pay."

"I'll get it next time," Kurt said. And maybe he was being presumptuous, but he was having a really good time with Blaine and he already knew he'd like to see him again.

Blaine didn't respond to Kurt's comment, only handed his credit card to the waitress.

"The night is still young," Blaine said, "Do you want to do something else?"

"What about dancing?"

"Like sweaty half naked men dirty dancing around a much too crowded floor?"

Kurt laughed, "It's not Babylon. Everyone keeps all their clothes on and it's not a gay only club. My friend Mike is the DJ and can probably get us in the back door."

Blaine stood and extended his hand towards Kurt, "Lead the way."

Smiling, Kurt placed his hand in Blaine's, holding tightly as he lead them out of the restaurant.

* * *

Kiss and Fly was packed. The line to the door stretched down the block and around a corner; it was Friday night after all. But while they had been walking over hand in hand, Kurt shot a text message to Mike and both men found themselves away from the crowd, standing suspiciously next to one of the club's emergency exits. Even from the outside, the sound of the music thumping against the walls was loud. Kurt had never taken anyone here before. But as Blaine had said, the night was young, and he wasn't exactly ready to curl up on his couch alone, watching Netflix until Santana came home.

They stood there, hands still intertwined until the steel door opened a bit and head popped through.

"My set starts in five minutes. Hurry up and get in here."

Pulling Blaine behind him, Kurt slipped through the door and into the backroom of the club, following Mike through a maze of hallways until they were in the heart of the club. The dance floor was large and covered most of the large room. It was framed by small groupings of tables on three sides, and an expansive bar on the other. The music was loud, the lights were dim and the colored lights bathed the floor in blues and purples and reds. Kurt waves goodbye to Mike and led Blaine along a line of tables right towards the bar.

"That's a pretty awesome connection," Blaine said raising his voice so that Kurt could hear them as they sat down on two conveniently empty stools at the bar.

"It is," Kurt shouted, "He's owed me this for a while."

"What did you do for him?"

"Introduced him to Tina. One of the cooks at Minetta."

"The cook and the DJ," Blaine said as if he'd been naming off the most romantic pairings in history.

"The waiter and the stockbroker," Kurt countered with a smile.

Maybe Kurt was being a little more forward than normal. But there was something about Blaine and the smile on his face that made it okay. It was then that Kurt felt it. That little bubble of happiness that was floating around his chest landed right in the middle and sat there. As if it had been floating around him for a while and had finally found the right time to land.

They ordered drinks that Blaine insisted on paying for and continued to chat over the loud music; about college, about coming to New York from Ohio. But as the last drops of Kurt's second drink hit his tongue, he made another bold gesture. He jumped off the stood and looked at a new bewildered Blaine.

"Let's dance."

Blaine looked hesitant for a moment, as if Kurt had asked him to do something foreign, but then he threw back the last bit of his drink and stood up smiling.

At first the dancing was innocent and fun. It was Kurt, Blaine, and a bunch of strangers moving to the music; separately, but as one. But after three of four songs, Kurt daringly wrapped his arms around Blaine's neck, holding him close. It could have gone terribly wrong. Kurt was well aware that Blaine could have pushed him away thus ending their date; because you can't move past that kind of awkward. But it's nothing short of amazing when Blaine places his hands, warm on Kurt's hips.

Kurt pulled Blaine closer as he began to lead them as they moved together to the pace of the music. It was fast and sexy and the sudden spike in Kurt's body temperature came from moving around the dance floor and from having Blaine so close to him. But he couldn't bring himself to care, even as the sweat was beginning to form on both of their foreheads. Their bodies moving together, always connected, even when Blaine spun Kurt away from him, only to pull him back so they were closer than they had been before; until they were pressed flush against each other.

Kurt knew that when he whispered "let's go back to my place" into Blaine's ear that it was very possible that Blaine would hear a promise of something that Kurt wasn't sure he could keep. They hadn't even kissed yet, how could either of them really be thinking about _that_. But Blaine nodded in response and this time it was Blaine who reached for Kurt's hand and led them out of the club into the New York streets, grateful for the cool spring air to cool them off. Kurt took a deep breath, because what the hell was he doing, and got into the cab that was waiting for him.

Kurt told Blaine to make himself at home while we went to grab a bottle of wine from the kitchen. But before Kurt could go more than two steps, Blaine reached out and took hold of his forearm, spinning Kurt around until he once again faced Blaine and then crashed his lips against Kurt's. The kiss was intense and it took Kurt's body a moment to respond. But when it did, Kurt moved his lips against Blaine's with just as much passion. The hands that had been frozen at Kurt's side slid up the sweater covered plains of Blaine's chest until they wrapped around his neck like they had been earlier on the dance floor, Blaine's hands resting against his hip again, pulling Kurt close until their bodies were flush against each other.

Without breaking the connection, Blaine guided their joined bodies to the couch, lowering Kurt down into the cushions before kneeling into them to hover his body over Kurt's for a moment before his lips moved from Kurt's to Kurt's jaw; down his neck until he reached his collar bone that was now exposed since he tie had come loose and the first four bottoms of his shirt had been undone (when did that happen?). The feel of Blaine's lips against his skin was intoxicating. It set all his nerves on fire in the best way possible and made his head cloudy, only aware of one thing…Blaine.

But as good as it felt when Blaine had his arm wrapped around Kurt's waist, the other dragging over his chest and torso, down his body and then, _oh_, down the front of his pants, Kurt Hummel was not one of one night stands. It didn't matter that Blaine's touch felt like nothing he'd experienced before. It didn't matter that everything inside of him was screaming for Blaine to touch more of him, to melt in the heat of Blaine's touch. It didn't matter that there was a heat building low in his belly. Even if Santana was no angel and had on many occasion brought a random girl into the apartment for a sleepover, Kurt had a different standard.

"We need to stop," Kurt said pulling his lips away from Blaine's, his breathe ragged.

"Why?" Blaine asked as his dark eyes gazed at Kurt.

"Because I don't do this."

"Don't do what?"

"Sleep with strange men."

Blaine pulled back just a bit, "I'm not strange."

"But I just met you."

"And this is crazy?"

"Stop right there!" Kurt said stopping Blaine with a pointed finger, "That song has no place in this moment."

Blaine laughed, "So now what?"

"I don't know. We go out another time?"

"Well I don't do _that_."

"What?"

"Date. Well, the same person more than once. Not usually."

"Oh."

And with that, the little fantasy that Kurt had begun to put together in his head suddenly fell into the painful world of reality. The possibility of more dates and getting to know Blaine better were gone. The chance to fall into a romance that, most due to Santana's insistence that this could be it, he was beginning to believe in too. It had been one date; one rather ordinary date. But there was something about Blaine that had made Kurt hope. But the dream had been shattered. It seemed that Blaine hadn't been as enthralled with Kurt as Kurt had been with Blaine.

"You're great, amazing actually, and I had a lot of fun tonight," Blaine said pushing himself up until he was back in a kneeling position, "I'm just not looking for anything serious."

"No, that's fine. I completely understand."

Blaine closed the spaced between their lips, but Kurt's lips remained tight causing Blaine to pull back.

But Kurt's words went misunderstood by Blaine. Instead of pulling away, Blaine launched himself back on top of Kurt, his lips crashing against Kurt's. But Kurt didn't respond. His lips remained tight against Blaine's causing the other boy to pull back.

"I may understand," Kurt whispered, "But that doesn't mean I'm going to sleep with you."

Blaine huffed and pulled back, "I should go."

Kurt watched from where he lay on the couch as Blaine got up and stood in the middle of the room. His head was spinning, unable to trust himself to stand up. There was a very attractive man who was, until just a moment ago, on top of him, pressing him into the couch cushions. The same attractive man who was now standing in the middle of his living room, straightening his clothes from where they'd shifted around his body from the movement of their bodies against each other and from the slide of Kurt's hand up his side. If only it weren't for his stupid moral he could probably know what that body looked underneath those clothes. He could know what it felt like to ghost his fingers over Blaine's skin. He could've known what it felt like to have Blaine's warm naked body pressed against his. But one day, a long time ago, Kurt's father said him down and taught him that he mattered. When it came to sex, Kurt shouldn't just give himself to every man that offered himself to Kurt. Of all the harebrained advice that his father had given him over the years, it was that one thing that stuck with him the most. That he mattered. And clearly he didn't matter all that much to Blaine because Blaine was only looking for a one night stand. And Kurt was a hopeless romantic. Giving himself to Blaine would only lead to Kurt getting his heart broken.

"I had a really great time tonight," Kurt said sitting up and smoothing the wrinkles made in his shirt.

"I did too," Blaine said, "And I'm sorry. I should've been clearer about my intentions."

"It's alright," Kurt said trusting himself to stand, "I shouldn't have assumed anything."

Blaine smiled weakly, "I should get going."

Kurt walked to the door and opened it for Blaine, "So I'll, uh..."

"I'll see you when I see you."

"I'll see you when I see you," Kurt repeated.

Blaine walked out of the apartment and into the hallway just like they both had earlier in the evening. He glanced back at Kurt for a moment before disappearing toward the elevator. Kurt shut the door and without evening changing grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and curled up into the cushions where Blaine had been kissing him, touching him, just fifteen minutes prior. He turned the TV on and stared mindlessly at whatever channel Santana left on before she left and fall asleep, hoping that when Santana came home just before the sun came up, that she would snuggle in with him so that he could wake up in the morning and pretend like the night hadn't happened.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:** I should probably mention that even though I listed this as Romance/Drama, there is certainly going to be a fair share of angst. It's kind of my guilty pleasure, although not really because I'll tell anyone who will listen that I'm an angstwhore.

Anyway...thanks for reading, reviewing, skimming through, whatever it is you do! You guys are my favs!

Let me know what you think!

* * *

Kurt woke up the morning after his date with Blaine to find Santana snuggled against him, still dressed in the outfit she'd left for her date in, her head on her chest, just like he'd hoped she would be. He was happy to have her in his life and she always knew exactly what he needed without a word from him. She was the one unexpected thing he'd found in high school. The friend he never meant to find, but when he did, it was like finding something you didn't even realize was missing. They were different, but their differences complimented each other and they'd learned to rely on each other through high school, moving to New York, college and life. Maybe it started because Kurt had been out and proud by the middle of their sophomore year and Santana, struggling to find herself, found a connection with Kurt. Someone who understood what she was going through. Neither of them can really put an exactly moment that it all clicked. But Kurt was certain he had no idea where he'd be if he didn't have Santana as his best friend.

Kurt picked up his phone from the couch beside him and glanced at the time. It was 9:30. He wiggled himself slowly from underneath Santana, careful not to wake her as he pried her body from his, and went to the kitchen to turn the coffee pot on. He had the lunch shift at the restaurant so he had enough time to jump in the shower, wash the remains of yesterday from his skin, put on a new outfit and start fresh. Because that was the only way to move on from everything that had happened the night before. It was one date. One date with a very, very attractive man who Kurt managed to not only enthrall him when he spoke but feel amazing pressed against him. He should have known it was too good to be true. Kurt had gone out on single dates before. He'd been given, and gave, the "I think we'd be better off as friends" speech on more than once occasion. So why did this rejection feel different? Why did it leave him with the feeling that part of him was missing?

After showing and dressing for work, ready to face a new day, Kurt walked back into the kitchen, the smell of coffee filling the apartment and calling to him like a moth to a flame. He walked over to the cabinet and pulled his favorite coffee cup from the shelf. From the counter, he noticed Santana shifting on the couch, waking up and turning to face him, her eyes open and she remained snuggled underneath the blanket they had shared while they slept.

"Are we talking about it," Santana asked her voice still thick with sleep.

"No," Kurt said filling his coffee cup.

"That bad?"

"No, it was perfect actually," Kurt said holding his coffee cup up to his face letting the aroma and the heat tickle his senses.

"So what was the problem," Santana asked getting up from the couch and joining Kurt in the kitchen, the blanket still wrapped around her shoulders. She took a seat at the kitchen table and Kurt placed the cup he'd poured for himself in front of her and went to get another one from the cabinet. When it was full he took a seat across from Santana, taking a sip before answering her.

"It was perfect until he made it clear that he was only looking for a one night stand."

"Really? What an asshole," Santana said, "I'm sorry, baby."

"No, really it's fine. It was stupid of me to think that first dates always lead to more dates."

"I know," Santana said, "I was just really hoping this would work out for you."

Because I'm tired of seeing you alone, Kurt added for her in his head.

"So how was _your _date?" Kurt asked to change the subject. The quickest way to forget the whole thing ever happened was to stop talking about it.

"Better than yours. She's kind of really amazing," Santana said blushing (yes, Santana Lopez was _blushing_) into her coffee cup, "Brittany. Her name is Brittany."

"Brittany, huh? This sounds serious," Kurt said, "I can't remember the last time you gave me someone's name."

"She's wonderful, Kurt," Santana said beaming, "And I'm sorry this probably isn't making you feel any better."

Kurt smiled and reached across the table and put his hand on top of Santana's, "If you're happy, that makes me happy."

"I'm happy," Santana said and Kurt could see how she was bursting at the seams.

"Good," Kurt said, "Now tell me about her."

"Her name is Brittany. She's our age. She's a dancer," Santana told him, "I want to bring her by. I want her to meet you."

Kurt had never had any formal introductions to Santana's girlfriends. Occasionally he'd get a hello as they were leaving in the morning or a quick hello as he rushed passed them making out on the couch when Kurt came home. But Santana had never wanted Kurt to meet a girl before and he couldn't stop the smile that spread on his face at the thought.

"Yeah, yeah, that would be great."

"You're off next Saturday right?"

"I have to work the lunch shift," Kurt corrected.

"Great, then we can do dinner. I'll cook and you we can all hang out."

"That sounds great."

And it does. It's something to look forward to in order to move his mind away from Blaine and their disaster of a date.

Except, Kurt can't seem to because Blaine seemed to be _everywhere_.

"I think I'm being haunted by the ghosts of embarrassing dates past," Kurt said walking through the door on Friday after the lunch shift. He liked the lunch shift, even though they were shorter than the dinner shift, but he got home and the sun was still out and he felt like he could still do something with his day.

"Why do you say that," Santana said coming out of the bathroom while putting her earring on.

"Because Blaine was at the restaurant for lunch today," Kurt said throwing himself onto the couch. He wanted to shower and watch bad television all night.

"And the problem with that is," Santana said as she bent over the kitchen table rummaging through her purse.

"The problem with that is that he's been there almost every day for the last week," Kurt said, "He was there for dinner on Monday and Tuesday, lunch today. And Tina said he was there on Wednesday when I wasn't."

"Maybe he really likes the chicken?" Santana said slipping into her heels. She was off to work.

"If he's there for the food than he's trying every single thing on the menu," Kurt said, "I'm just glad I don't have to wait on him."

"Do you honestly think he's stalking you?" Santana said standing in front of Kurt, her hands on her hips.

"Well it sounds crazier when you say it out loud than it does in my head, but I don't know what else to think," Kurt said looking at her feet

"Has he tried to talk to you?"

"No," Kurt said frustrated, "And I haven't even caught him staring or anything weird. He's just always there."

"By himself?"

"No with what I'm assuming are clients, or dates, or I don't know."

"You're losing it."

"Thank you for pointing that out, I wasn't aware of that yet."

"Are you still hung up on him?"

Kurt's eyes darted away from Santana's until they were focused on a spot on the wall.

"Oh my god, are you!" Santana exclaimed, "Kurt, it was one date."

"I'm well aware of that Santana," Kurt said, "I just can't stop thinking about him."

And it was the truth. Somehow the few hours they'd spent together kept playing on a constant loop in Kurt's head. And when he wasn't reliving the perfect parts of their date: dinner, dancing, kissing, he was using his always overactive imagination to create new scenarios; scenarios that would never happen because Blaine didn't date. This was like a high school crush, and worse than the stupid crush he'd once had on his step-brother. Because it had only been one date and some kissing and slight groping. But Blaine kissed better than anyone Kurt had ever kissed before. And it wasn't so much that Blaine had a talent, but that somehow kissing Blaine felt different; like he should spend forever kissing Blaine. The only way to get over this was too put Blaine from his mind. But Blaine seemed determined to make that absolutely impossible.

"I can see if Brittany has any gay friends," Santana said, 'She could bring them to dinner this weekend."

"No," Kurt said, "I don't want to have a blind date in my own house. This place already has enough embarrassment for one lifetime."

"Fine. But you should get back on the well-hung horse Kurt. Aside from your date with Blaine, you've barely gone out with anyone in like a year. You're always at work, or working on an audition, or lying on the couch watching Real Housewives of Orange County."

"How did this turn into a conversation about how I'm going to die a spinster? This was supposed to be you freaking out because Blaine seems to be everywhere."

"Then talk to him the next time he's there," Santana said, "Or I will."

"No, don't," Kurt said, "Makes it sound like I've run and told mommy. Just, maybe there's a logical explanation why he keeps showing up. Maybe he'll just stop being there."

"If I see him there, I'm going to have a talk with that little shit," Santana said grabbed her coat and purse from the kitchen table and made her way towards the door, "And you only get tonight to continue wallowing. I want you back to your normal 'I'm Kurt Hummel and I am better than you' self by the time I get home tonight."

"I love you, too," Kurt called as Santana blew him a kiss before disappearing out the door.

* * *

Kurt took advantage of having the apartment to himself on a Friday night and called his dad. He knew that Carole and Finn would be around and as much as he loved New York, sometimes he just missed his family.

"You doin' alright, kid?" Burt said after they'd said hello.

"Yeah, Dad. I'm fine."

"Then why do ya sound like you've spent the last week watching the Notebook on repeat."

"It's nothing, dad. I promise."

"Who is he?"

"What?"

"Who is he? The guy that's got you all bummed out."

"You know me too well dad."

"So, tell me about him."

"There's not much to tell. We went on one date."

"And," Burt pushed.

"And, we wanted, uh, different things."

"Say no more, kid. I got it."

"And that would be fine and dandy but I just keep seeing him every day so it's getting hard to push this one away."

"He work at the restaurant or something?"

"No, he's just been there, as a customer, almost every day this week. "

"Is this kid stalking you, Kurt?"

"You sound like Santana."

"I knew I always liked that girl."

"No, Dad, he's not stalking me. He's just always at the restaurant meeting with clients. That how I met him in the first place"

"He a lawyer?"

"Stockbroker."

"Already sounds like an asshole."

"Dad!"

"Your old man can curse from time to time. You're an adult living in New York, you shouldn't sound so shocked. But if this guy can't appreciate you than he isn't worth you drowning your sorrows in a carton of Breyers for."

"I love you, Dad."

"I love you too, Kurt."

Kurt hung up the phone, his heart a little lighter than it had been that afternoon. He knew talking to his dad would do him some good. But despite what his dad said, there was a carton of ice cream in the freezer that he'd been craving all day. He was skipping dinner and going straight for dessert.

* * *

Blaine was certain that he was the stupidest man alive. Walking out of Kurt's apartment the night of their date like he had, was not one of his best moments. He'd been stupid to expect that Kurt was looking for the same things he was: a night to take the edge off, a night without commitment. But Kurt was looking for something that lasted longer than an orgasm. And underneath the overwhelming feeling of his skin being lit on fire by Kurt's touch, was a paralyzing terror that Blaine couldn't seem to push away. It had come down to fight or flight and Blaine's raised pulse and sweaty palms told him to get out of there as fast as he could. Because Kurt was looking for something that Blaine just couldn't give him. The worst part was that he knew that walking away would hurt Kurt's feelings. They barely knew each other but he still felt guilty at the thought of hurting Kurt. But then again that was one of the reasons he'd been so determined to run. He was so out of his element that it was completely overwhelming.

Blaine was a man who didn't 'do' love. He saw no benefit from it. Maybe it came from watching his parent's loveless marriage crumble until it was nothing more than dust until he'd gone off to college and they finally filed for divorce. Maybe it was the fact that for him, coming out to his parents, meant seeing the rejection in their eyes, though their mouths told a different story. He knew before the words were out of his mouth that his parents wouldn't understand; he just never expected them to lie to him about it. He couldn't remember the last time anyone but his brother told him that he loved him. And even then he had to force out the "Love you too, Coop" from his lips. The idea of love was never spoken of in the Anderson house. Not unless Cooper, his much older brother, was falling in love with a new girl. No, instead of I love you (which he'd begun to believe wasn't true at all), affection was displayed with things; expensive things. He got a brand new car when he turned sixteen, a TV when he did well on his ACTs, a bottle of rum when he got into college because it meant that he was finally becoming a man. Only his father's words had been flat when he handed him the bottle, his eyes never meeting Blaine's. No matter how much affection he'd longed for from his parents, he never got it. So at some point, probably right around the time he started high school, Blaine convinced himself that he didn't need. He didn't need the rejection or to one day realize that the person who was supposed to love you doesn't, and you've becoming nothing but an obligation and an embarrassment.

It wasn't like he could find many people to date as a gay teenager in Ohio. Even when he was sent away to an all-boys boarding school, he'd only managed to find acceptance, but never love. And he'd found that acceptance was much more rewarding. He had friends, they liked him, what more could he need?

Now that he was in New York and being out and proud wasn't as rare, or looked down upon as it had been in Ohio. It was after a couple of one night stands in college that Blaine noticed that he liked it that way. It was all the fun of sex without removing the wall he'd put up over his heart. And that's just the way he kept things, how he wanted things. He wasn't promiscuous; there wasn't a different man in his bed every night. He went on dates, but he didn't date. Occasionally the opportunity would arise where he could take someone home, or he would go over to their place. And it doesn't need to be spelled out what happened next. But Blaine always fell asleep in his own bed, alone. And he usually never saw the guy again. Blaine did a good job of convincing himself that doing that was good enough; that he could find a guy to get him off and then move on to the next when he needed it.

But then he met Kurt. He'd found himself enthralled by Kurt's beauty the second he'd arrived at the table where he was trying to convince Mr. Dawson that it was a good idea to hire him as his financial advisor. But he suddenly didn't care about anything Mr. Dawson was saying once he'd laid eyes on Kurt. He'd had a big smile on his face that reached all the way up to his sparkling blue eyes even though the restaurant had been backed and he'd surely been running around before they'd been seated. It was completely distracting. It was no wonder Mr. Dawson thought Blaine couldn't see his vision; he'd spent most of the night trying to act as interested as possible while his brain became completely obsessed with Kurt while he watched him move gracefully throughout the restaurant.

He didn't tell Kurt that it was obvious after they'd left the restaurant that night that Mr. Dawson's outrage came from the fact that he was very much homophobic. New York may be a very liberal place, but there were still people who saw the world in a very tiny box. Mr. Dawson was definitely one of those people. It was his words that would have hurt him, had he cared enough about the opinions of a middle aged man that guided him back to the restaurant just as it was closing, to pay for the meal he'd walked out on, to ask Kurt out on a date. Because no one should ever say such words about someone as spectacular as Kurt, even if it wasn't to their face.

He'd fully intended for his date with Kurt to go just like all the others. But something changed during dinner. Kurt had been talking about his life in Ohio, a life similar to his own, and how determined he had been to get out, and how determined he still was to make a name for himself doing what he loved to do. And the same pull that had drawn Blaine's attention to Kurt that first night was pulling him to Kurt now, only tenfold. He was no longer just a beautiful guy, but a beautiful person. Blaine suddenly wanted to know everything about Kurt. He wanted to hear him sing and while they were dancing later in the evening, he wanted to see him perform. The flame that started to burn low in his bell when Kurt whispered 'let's go to my place' was different, stronger, better than it had been with any other guy. Blaine had no idea what it was, he was still clueless, but even after he'd left Kurt's apartment that night, his thoughts remained with Kurt.

There was something he couldn't even begin to verbalize about the way he felt when he'd been kissing Kurt, when he'd been holding him in his arms. His entire body had been tingling in a new way when he touched Kurt's skin and when Kurt touched him; it was hotter than the most intense fire. But something inside him put the fire out; that put the distance between himself and Kurt. It wasn't the first time someone had wanted something more, but it was the first time he'd almost said yes.

But he didn't need any of the things that came with saying yes, and he didn't want them. Except…

Except he couldn't stop thinking about Kurt. And he had no idea what to do about it.


	4. Chapter 4

Here's a little treat to get through the first Thursday of yet another hiatus! Thanks for reading guys!

R&R?

* * *

Saturday morning, Kurt headed to work thinking of nothing but the dinner they were hosting that evening. Santana had been up long before he was, cleaning the kitchen and she had even yelled at him for taking too long in the bathroom because she needed to clean the toilet. Kurt was sure that he'd never seen Santana do so much manual work in his life. But that was how he could tell that Brittany was special. Because Santana didn't risk breaking a nail for anyone, including Kurt. And he couldn't be anything less than thrilled for his best friend for finding someone that made her feel the way Brittany did.

He was working the lunch shift again, and it was just after noon when he came barreling out of the kitchen with an entire tray of lunches for a family that he almost stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted Blaine sitting with a man, one closer to their age, in a suit at a table across the restaurant. Because really it was getting ridiculous. Who came to the same restaurant where the guy who wouldn't sleep with you worked more often after your date than you did before? Kurt was certain that he'd never seen Blaine in the restaurant before the night they'd met (he wouldn't have forgotten that face). Thankfully the hostess set them at one of the other server's tables and the only challenge Kurt had to overcome was keeping his mind and his eyes away from Blaine while they were in the same place.

And for the most part he'd managed to succeed for the hour and a half that Blaine and his client had been there. But there were times when Kurt felt like someone was watching him; like eyes were trying to burn holes into his skin. But when his eyes flickered towards Blaine, those hazel eyes were always focused on his plate or the man in front of him.

Kurt was happy to breathe freely when Blaine paid the bill and they both men were leaving the restaurant. He powered through the rest of his shift, keeping his thoughts away from Blaine, until it was time to head home. He said goodbye to the hostess, a bag full of things that Santana had asked him to grab for dinner in his hand as he walked out onto MacDougal, letting the sun hit his face as he began the journey home.

"Kurt," someone called behind him causing Kurt to spin around, his eyes wide as he spotted Blaine jogging to catch up with him.

"Hey," was all that Blaine said once he was standing in front of Kurt.

"Blaine," Kurt said shocked. Blaine had left the restaurant over an hour ago. How long had he been waiting outside?

"How are you?" Blaine asked timidly.

"I'm good," Kurt responded courteously, "How are you?"

"Great."

A silence grew between the two boys, Blaine looking everywhere but in Kurt's eyes.

"Is that all?" Kurt asked.

Blaine shot Kurt a bewildered look.

"Blaine, you've been to the restaurant almost every day for the last week," Kurt explained, "And were you waiting out here for me? You left like an hour ago."

"Oh, wow. I sound like a total creep when you put it that way," Blaine said, "I just—I just. I-I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?"

"I," Blaine started, "I'd like to take you out again."

"I thought you didn't date? More than once I mean."

"I don't. I mean, I never have before" Blaine said, "I just—I'd just like to go out with you again."

"I don't understand, Blaine," Kurt said, "You made it clear that night that you weren't interested."

Blaine wrapped his arms around himself, a bit of fear and embarrassment flickering in his eyes. He opened his mouth a couple of times, pressing his lips together as if he was deciding if he should say whatever it was he wanted to say to Kurt. But Kurt had never expected what ended up coming from Blaine's lips, "I can't stop thinking about you okay? I don't know what else I can say. I can't stop thinking about our date, and you, and I'd like to take you out again."

"Really?"

"I've never done the whole boyfriend thing. Not seriously at least. And I don't know if I want to do it—"

"I'm not some experiment," said Kurt cutting Blaine off, sharp tongue ready to strike.

"What? No, Kurt, it's not like that; not at all," Blaine said scrambling to get the right words from his mouth, "I just—I just want to take you out again, please. You said you wanted another date, and now so do I. How about tonight? We can go dancing again."

There was something about the way Blaine spoke, his words rambling and drenched in desperation that Kurt found so endearing that it made Kurt's heart flutter slightly.

"I have plans tonight," Kurt said.

"Oh."

_Is that a good or a bad oh?_

"My roommate Santana is bringing her girlfriend over," Kurt said deflating, "Would you like to join us?"

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Blaine said shaking his head.

"You won't be," Kurt said, "If anything you'll be saving me from being the awful third wheel."

"Okay," Blaine said with a soft smile, "What time?"

"Seven-thirty?

"Yeah, that's perfect."

"Great," Kurt said flashing a smile, "Do you need the address again?"

"No," Blaine said raising his hand to show Kurt his phone, "I've still got the text."

"Great," Kurt said, "it's, uh, casual, but I wouldn't wear jeans because I'm pretty sure Santana will kill both of us if you do. She's kind of been going nuts try to make everything perfect for tonight."

"And she's not going to care that I'm crashing?"

"No," Kurt said, "And if she does I'll tell her new girlfriend about the time she got drunk and sang Hootie and the Blowfish to her girlfriend in high school."

Blaine chuckled, "Then I'll see you at seven-thirty."

Blaine gave a little wave, that Kurt returned with his free hand, and took off in the direction that he'd come running from before. Kurt watched until Blaine had rounded the corner before he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his jeans, calling Santana, before continuing his trip home.

"Hey, do you have enough food for another person at dinner tonight or do I need to stop at the store," Kurt said while he crossed the street.

"That depends. Are you bringing over a hot guy or your brother?"

"Hot guy."

"Name please."

"Blaine Anderson."

"How the hell did that happen?" Santana shouted into the phone

"I'll tell you about it when I get home. Do I need to stop and get anything?"

"No, I've got enough. But hurry home. I need to figure out how much I hate this guy."

Twenty minutes later, Kurt walked through the door, Santana standing in the kitchen chopping up vegetable, singing along to the radio. Her voice was amazing, and always had been. Kurt didn't understand why she didn't want to pursue something that had to do with music. It didn't have to be musical theater like he dreamed of, but it could be her voice coming through the radio, not accompanying it. But after high school, she never showed any interest.

"You're going to be nice tonight," Kurt said sitting down at one of the chairs around the table.

"Kurt, the guy basically ditched you because you wouldn't sleep with him, and then stalked you, and then suddenly he's coming to dinner. I have a right to be worried this guy is going to steal our shit while he's here."

"That's not what happened," Kurt corrected, "And he's not going to steal our stuff."

"Then tell me how it happened because Kurt," Santana said sitting down in the chair across the table from Kurt, "I just want to make sure that you're happy."

"I'm happy Santana. With or without Blaine," Kurt said, "Plus, I invited him to dinner, I didn't propose."

"So tell me how he ended up getting invited to dinner?"

"He had lunch with a client at the restaurant—"

"Stalking."

"—and then he was waiting for me outside when my shift ended."

"Do I need to throw up the red flags here or are you doing that but proceeding anyway?"

Kurt rolled his eyes, "We started off on the wrong foot. But there's always opportunity for second chances right. Look at you and me."

"Fine," Santana huffed sitting back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest, "I'll be nice until I decide I hate him. After that all bets are off."

Kurt stood up and walked over to Santana planting a kiss on her cheek, "I would expect nothing less."

"Now go change so you can help me or we won't have any dinner at all."

Kurt laughed as he turned to head into his bedroom. He really loved Santana.

* * *

"What are you doing tonight?" Wes said into the phone before Blaine could even say hello.

"I have a date."

"Ditch the poor sap. Come with us to Mimi's tonight."

"No can do, Wes. I told you I've got a date."

"Whose name you won't remember tomorrow," Wes said pointedly, "But, we, your friends, are stuck with you forever."

"His name is Kurt."

"Wait, what?"

"His name is Kurt," Blaine repeated.

"No, I heard you just fine, "Wes said, "What you can't see is my jaw on the floor because I don't think you've ever told me a guy's name since college. And I'm pretty sure it took you three tries to get it right."

"I'm not a floosy."

"But you're not the dating kind either," Wes said, "This must be serious."

"It's nothing," Blaine said, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to finish getting ready."

"Fine," Wes said, "But I'll be expecting a report when you get the office on Monday."

"Goodbye Wes," Blaine said hanging up the phone and tossing it onto his bed that was currently covered in most of the clothes that had once been in his closet. He sighed loudly and went back to trying to figure out what to wear.

* * *

Brittany arrived around a quarter after seven, accompanied by a cheesecake from Kurt's favorite bakery. Kurt wasn't sure exactly what he was expecting, but Brittany wasn't it. Brittany was tall, beautiful and her long hair was pulled back into an elegant ponytail. Santana introduced Brittany as her girlfriend, beaming with pride because this was new for her and he knew she was so happy about it. When Brittany handed off the cheesecake to Santana and wrapped her arms around Kurt in a warm hug, Kurt didn't care about expectations, because between the great hug, the cheesecake, and the smile on Santana's face, he already liked her a lot.

Kurt disappeared into the kitchen to put the finishing touches on dinner, leaving Santana and Brittany along in the living room while he began dreaming of the day that he could feel like they did. He was already beginning to get the butterflies when Blaine was next to him, but they'd started out on shaky ground, and Kurt still wasn't sure where Blaine stood with everything. It was very possible that Blaine would leave tonight, the guy Kurt went out with _twice_. The very thought of it immediately put out the tiny fire that was building inside of him. The tiny flame of hope was extinguished. But when there was a knock on the door promptly at 7:30, Kurt shook himself for the state of pessimism until he felt the flame begin to ignite inside of him, weak, but still holding on.

"I'll get it," Santana called as Kurt put the finishing touches on the salad and turned the heat off of the stove.

From the kitchen, Kurt heard Blaine's voice and Santana politely (thank god!) inviting him in. At least she was behaving so far. Kurt wiped his hands on a towel and went to greet him.

"Kurt, your boy brought expensive booze," Santana shouted as Kurt walked back into the living room.

Kurt walked over to Blaine, ignoring Santana's comments as she showed the bottle of wine that Blaine had brought to Brittany. He wasn't sure how they should greet each other, a handshake? A hug? Still unsure, Kurt settled for a kiss on the cheek, smiling when he felt Blaine's cheeks move beneath his lips as he smiled and reached down to take Kurt's hand. Kurt's heart took off at full speed.

"I don't think you've officially met despite the excitement about the wine," Kurt said, "Blaine, this is Santana and her girlfriend Brittany. This is Blaine."

Blaine waved at the girls and Kurt was happy when Brittany waved back enthusiastically. Santana, however, just looked at him and nodded slightly. Kurt knew that was the best he was going to get from his best friend; at least until Blaine managed to charm her into submission and she cut back on the bitch. But until then, Kurt ushered everyone into the kitchen for dinner.

Dinner was cordial. They drank the wine that Blaine had brought, and most of the conversation centered on Brittany and her job as a dance instructor, her insane love for her cat, and how she and Santana met at the art museum. Kurt shot Santana a questioning glance, because the last place Kurt expected Santana to be, let alone meet girls at, was the art museum. But Santana just rolled her eyes and shrugged. There would be another conversation about that later. Kurt tried his best to get Blaine involved in the conversation, but for the most part found him quiet. So he told stories about Santana in high school. About how they were in show choir together, she the popular cheerleader, he the social outcast, and how through their own struggles, realized how similar they were and reached an understand and a deeper friendship that lead to Santana following Kurt to New York with no real plan of her own, while he pursued his dreams of Broadway.

Blaine only commented when Kurt addressed him personally. He'd never expected someone who met with strangers for a living would be so bashful, but Blaine was definitely closed off. Kurt noticed that when he was speaking, he had Blaine's full attention. It was then that Kurt could get him to respond to the conversation. But when Santana or Brittany, spoke he would only slightly nod when it seemed appropriate. Blaine didn't appear to be uncomfortable, but Kurt couldn't imagine why he wouldn't be. Even after knowing Santana for so long, he could still get taken aback occasionally at how intense she could be. And Kurt knew that she'd been biting her tongue as they'd been introduced. He what she wanted to do was insult his hair or his clothes or something, because that's was the way Santana knew how to protect; by immediately attack those she thought might be dangerous.

After dinner, the foursome moved from the kitchen to the living room. Kurt walked over to the stereo and put some music on and then sat down next to Blaine, happy when Blaine's hand reached for his, holding it tightly between them as Brittany began asking Kurt about his dreams of Broadway. And that was when things went from bad to absolutely terrible.

It wasn't that Kurt didn't absolutely love when people spoke highly of him, because really, he did; but Santana was going a little overboard. Once Kurt mentioned that he and one his friends in high school once snuck into the Gershwin and he got to sing on a real Broadway stage and from that moment he was lost, Santana began rattling off every accomplishment Kurt had had since he was sixteen. But was most unsettling was that Santana seemed to be making sure each and every thing that she was explaining made Kurt great, was directed at Blaine. Blaine did you know Kurt was the lead soloist in our show choir? Blaine, did you know that Kurt Hummel beat out the most obnoxious girl in school to get into NYADA? Blaine, did you know that Kurt was not only on the football team, but was also a cheerleader? Blaine, did you know that Kurt is hung like a horse? Blaine, did you know one time Kurt climbed a magical beanstalk?

And all Blaine could do was nod until Santana got really ridiculous and all he could do was stare. If Blaine wasn't uncomfortable by now, Kurt most definitely was.

"Santana," Kurt warned.

"What? I'm just making sure Bruce knows how freakin' amazing you are."

"Could you at least call him by his name when he's right in front of you?"

"Why? All he wants to do is getting into those tight pants of yours and then not return your phone calls."

"Santana," Kurt spit, "That's enough."

"I should go," Blaine said letting go of Kurt's hand and standing up, looking only at Kurt and not Santana who was staring daggers into Blaine's head.

"You don't have to," Kurt said standing up, reaching for Blaine's hand, happy when Blaine let him take it.

"No, it's getting late," Blaine said his voice just above a whisper. As if the moment was more intimate than Blaine leaving an uncomfortable situation.

"Fine," Kurt huffed, "I'll walk you down."

"It was nice meeting you both," Blaine said only glancing at Santana and Brittany for a second while he let Kurt pull him towards the door.

Kurt shot Santana a glare, hopefully making it clear that he was angry with her and that she wasn't getting off the hook for this easily, before he lead Blaine out into the hallway.

* * *

It was chilly outside. The night air of early spring was cold against Kurt's skin, but it helped cool himself down from everything that had just happened in his apartment. Santana had always had a venomous tongue, but it had been a while since Kurt had seen her use it so skillfully. But that didn't excuse the way she'd attacked Blaine, a guest in their home, Kurt's date for the evening, until he'd gotten too uncomfortable and left.

"I'm sorry about Santana," Kurt said pulling his sweater tighter around him, "She can be a little intense."

"Don't apologize. I like that she's protective of you," Blaine said walking around slowly, looking only at the sidewalk in front of him, "Plus, she's right. If you were anyone else I would have pushed you from my mind by now, sooner actually."

"What makes me different?"

"I don't even know if I can explain it properly. You're just this presence, you've got this aura about you that seems to have a hold on me that I can't seem to shake, no matter how hard I try. And believe me I've tried. But you may be the single most captivating person I've ever met. And I just want to be…close to you. Even if that means I have to get used to your best friend hating me."

"She doesn't hate you," Kurt said, "She's like that to most people."

"Still."

"But will you?" Kurt asked, "I mean you want to? Get used to her?"

"Kurt, I-I don't know if I can," Blaine said, "I don't know how to do this. I've never wanted to put the effort or the emotions into a relationship for longer than few hours. "

"And now?" Kurt questioned, "Because Blaine, I'm not asking for anything big here. I'm just looking for some kind of sign that you feel the same. That you're in this too. Because, I like you. A lot."

"You don't even know me, not really."

"But I know _me_. And I know that we had one date and I like you. And I know that, I can't stop thinking about you either. And what I'm feeling right now, is different than anything I've ever felt before. I know it's stilly because we did only go out on one date, and then tonight. But I feel it and it scares the crap out of me."

"I feel it," Blaine said reaching out and taking Kurt's hand, "And I'm in this. I just don't know if I'll be any good at it, the romance, I mean. If it isn't terribly obvious yet, I've never been anyone's boyfriend before."

"Then we'll take it slow," Kurt said, "I'll show you everything it means to have a boyfriend."

The flirty tone in Kurt's voice made Blaine smile. Kurt could still see the hint of fear in Blaine's eyes. One day, when he wasn't so afraid that Blaine would go running, he'd ask him what he was so afraid of. Was it the commitment? Was it being obligated to be with only one person? Or was it something more? Something emotional, that put the fear in Blaine's eyes. What made it dance beneath the wonder of a budding romance?

"Really?" Blaine said taking a step closer to Kurt until he was standing right in front of him, their joined hands held tight between them, only a breath between their lips.

"Really," Kurt said taking advantage of their closeness and removing the distance between their lips. The electricity that he'd felt that first night still running hot as ever and Blaine responded to his lips, kissing him for the first time in two weeks, feeling like they'd done this a hundred times. Like they could to it a million more.

When Blaine pulled back, he rested his forehead against Kurt's and whispered, "I'm in this."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure," Blaine said the grin on his face the widest Kurt had ever seen it, "I don't think I've ever been more sure of anything in my life."


	5. Chapter 5

When Kurt returned to the apartment after kissing Blaine goodnight, Brittany was gone and Santana was sitting in front of the TV. On the street, a new relationship had formed, but in his apartment was the reminder that Blaine had almost run away because of Santana's behavior. Instead of cuddling up with her like he usually did on Saturday nights when they were both home to watch the Real Housewives marathon, Kurt stalked off toward his room until Santana turned her attention away from the screen.

"Are you going to watch this with me?" Santana asked from the couch, stopping Kurt in his tracks. He turned and looked at her, eyes wide, jaw hanging. _Was she kidding?_

"Are you really going to pretend like you didn't do anything wrong?" Kurt bellowed furiously as he crossed his arms across his chest, "At least I managed to convince him not to let you chase him away."

"What a pity," Santana said flatly.

If Kurt had been shocked by Santana's behavior before, he was completely flabbergasted now. He stood silent staring at her ready to burst.

"Oh, come on, Kurt. Are you honestly angry with me over that? You know I could have done a lot worse."

"Yes, I'm angry, "Kurt said bluntly, his hands gesturing in front of him to punctuate his point, "I invited Blaine here to have dinner, and not so you could make him feel uncomfortable."

"Well then maybe you should have asked me before you brought the guy that left your ass because you wouldn't sleep with him to the dinner where you were supposed to be meeting my girlfriend."

"Don't make yourself out to be the victim Santana. I understand your reservations about Blaine, I do. I understand them and I appreciate you looking out for me. But you can't act like that towards Blaine because you feel like you're protecting me and expecting me to be okay with it. I like him Santana."

"I don't understand why," Santana said, her voice rising, "You don't know anything about him."

"Neither do you," Kurt countered, "And isn't that the point of dating? To learn things about a person in the attempt to find someone to fall in love with?"

"He was too quiet."

"You scared the shit out of him with all those wild stories; most of which weren't even true."

"You're too good for him."

"That is my call to make Santana," Kurt said.

"Fine," Santana huffed turning back towards the TV, "I don't want to talk to you if you can't appreciate our friendship."

"You know, for someone who wants me to be happy, you sure don't know how to let me be happy."

Santana ignored him and Kurt rolled his eyes, because _really_? Was Santana really going to act like she was the victim when she'd clearly been the one who made Blaine so uncomfortable and had almost chased Blaine away from him? Apparently she was because Kurt stood stunned for long enough to realize that Santana wasn't going to apologize to anyone and she certainly wasn't going to pay any more attention to Kurt for the rest of the night. So Kurt disappeared into his bedroom for the rest of the night. Once alone, the anger he'd felt out in the living room with Santana became to dissipate. Because he and Blaine had agreed to be something more than friends, something slow, something that could grow. He'd been looking for something—for someone—that made him feel like this for so long. And there was no way that he was going to let Santana rain on his parade.

But when Kurt and Blaine met for a coffee date a few days later, the tension between Kurt and Santana was still thick.

"I never meant to cause any tension between the two of you," Blaine said apologetically as he handed the girl behind the counter his debit card, brushing away Kurt's extended hand that held a twenty dollar bill.

"No," Kurt said leading them to a vacant table, "You didn't do anything. She just likes to cause trouble, no matter how it makes other people, or _me_, feel. She's the only one who owes anyone an apology."

"I just don't want to be the thing that comes between your friendship," Blaine said with a sad smile that made Kurt's heart ache.

"You aren't, and you won't be," Kurt said reaching out and putting his hand over Blaine's, "We've done this before and I'm certain we will do it again. So please don't worry about this."

Blaine turned his hand where it sat underneath Kurt's warm touch so that he could lace their fingers together, "Okay."

Taking things slow with Blaine was nice. To an outsider, namely Kurt's hot tempered roommate, it seemed like they'd started off on the wrong foot; it was something Kurt had once thought himself. Santana seemed more concerned about the fact that Blaine had left after Kurt refused to sleep with him, than the fact that every moment before than had been absolutely perfect. So they started on the right foot, just at some point they'd stumbled. Their first date had been perfect with a not to so great ending. Kurt had held on to every word that Blaine had said; intrigued by everything that the boy was offering about himself, and his life. The places he'd been, the people he'd met. After a couple of weeks of dating the same warmth that had bubbled inside him that first night was still there every time Blaine took his hand.

Since his apartment was off limits while Santana was home, Kurt and Blaine alternated between spending evenings at Blaine's incredibly nice, well decorated apartment, and going out dancing. It was more fun than the traditional dinner and movie dates and Kurt had explained to Blaine that when he wasn't working, he tried not to spend too much time in restaurants. He wasn't opposed to going out and letting someone else do all the cooking and cleaning, but most of the time he found that it was much more fun to cook everything himself and Blaine was willing to accept that.

But Kurt quickly noticed that Blaine insisted on paying for everything. Maybe in his most vivid daydreams, Kurt once wished for a man that could take care of all his financial woes. He'd also expected that man to be George Clooney. Yes, Kurt was barely staying above water with his student loan payments and rent, but there was enough left over to treat his boyfriend to a night, or at least coffee, and not land him out on the street. But every time Kurt went to pay for anything: coffee, drinks, ice cream, Blaine would either pay the cashier before Kurt could get his money out or would insist that he pay himself. It was never an argument, in fact, sometimes it was almost flirtatious, but in the end not a dime came out of Kurt's pocket. And it was beginning to bother him. Kurt didn't want Blaine to think that he was expecting him to pay for everything, that he couldn't. The worst part was he wanted to talk to Santana about it. Maybe she could help him find a way to approach Blaine without causing a fight. But every time Kurt tried to talk to Santana she ignored him. So for the time being, Kurt resigned himself to keeping his mouth shut.

* * *

It was early on a Thursday and Kurt was running around frantically making sure everything was ready for his audition later that morning while running through his vocal warm-ups and his audition piece at a volume that wouldn't disturb the neighbors or Santana. He knew the odds of him actually landing the role were slim, but he had to go for it anyway. The more times he auditioned and they said no, the closer he was to the elusive yes that he was certain would come; hopefully sometime soon. There was a knock on the door and Kurt's brow creased in confusion. Santana, and he was pretty sure Brittany, were asleep in bed and Blaine had work in a little while, so who could be at his door? He put the script he'd been looking over down on the coffee table and walked over to the door. When he opened he found a delivery guy from the florist down street holding nothing but a clipboard.

"Kurt Hummel?" the man asked, looking bored.

"Yes."

"Sign here," the man said thrusting the clipboard with an invoice into Kurt's hands.

He didn't bother to read over any of the information before he scribbled his name down on the line marked with an X. For all he knew he had just signed away his soul to some cult, but he gave the clipboard back to the delivery guy who tucked it underneath his arm. The delivery guy then bent down, toward something out of Kurt's view. When he stood back up, there was a giant arrangement of red and yellow roses, two dozen of them, in a very decorative vase. The delivery guy thrust the vase into Kurt's arms and then took of down the hallway without a farewell, or a tip.

Confused, Kurt turned back into the apartment, the vase of roses held with both hands as he closed the door with his foot and brought the arrangement into the kitchen placing it on the kitchen table. Kurt grabbed the tiny envelope from the holder and opened it. He smiled as he read the tiny card inside. For a guy who said he was no good at romance, he sure was learning fast.

_Knock 'em dead. –Blaine_

Kurt smiled as he leaned in to take in their scent. They were lovely. When he glanced at the clock, he realized that he needed to get going or he'd be late. He'd text Blaine a thank you on the way.

* * *

Kurt could see it in their eyes before they even give him the "we'll be in touch" that he wasn't what they were looking for. He'd been expecting it, but it still stung the tiniest bit. But like with everything else he kept his head up and carried on with his life. He was a Hummel, and no one put the Hummels down. So he stopped to get lunch at the little café around the corner from his apartment determined to put the entire thing behind him. He sent a text to Blaine while he was waiting in line.

_Santana's staying at Brittany's tonight. Dinner and trashy reality TV at my place?_

**Absolutely. How'd the audition go?**

_Well, I won't be quitting the restaurant any time soon. _

**:( Do you need anything?**

_Just_ you ;) And maybe the carton of mint chocolate chip that's in my freezer.

* * *

By the time Kurt and Blaine were sitting side by side on the couch, Kurt's head on Blaine's shoulder as they watched The Bachelor, Kurt had forgotten all about his audition, and was happy to revel in the fact that he had a tiny apartment that he loved, a best friend who he loved, even though she seemed to hate him at the moment, and a boyfriend he could rely on to be there when he wasn't having a good day.

During a commercial break, Kurt turned his head on Blaine's shoulder and looked up at Blaine's face. The lights from the TV flickered in Blaine's eye until he turned to look at Kurt, his whole face lighting up as their eyes met. It made Kurt's inside's sing.

"What?" Blaine said laughing.

"Thank you," Kurt said just above a whisper so that even though there was no one else in the apartment, only Blaine could hear.

"For what?"

"For coming over," Kurt explained, "For letting me just sulk a little about my audition and being with me while I was sulking."

"It was my pleasure," Blaine said leaning in to place a kiss to Kurt's forehead," those casting people don't know what they're missing."

Blaine was learning. For someone who'd never seen a functional relationship in his life, it surprised him when he could do something as simple as kiss Kurt on the forehead and have it feel like the most natural thing in the world. Being with Kurt, having a boyfriend was turning out to be a lot less of a challenge then he'd thought it would be. He thought that he would get stuck, not knowing how to act or how to care for Kurt the way Kurt cared for him. The kissing and the touching he could do, but Kurt was looking for something different, something more. Kurt was looking for a shoulder he could rest his head on and feelings and to be trusted in a way that Blaine wasn't sure he could give to another person. He didn't know how to trust Kurt completely. But he was sure he wanted to be with Kurt. He'd meant it that night; that he'd never been more sure of anything in his life. But that didn't mean that he wasn't absolutely terrified. He wanted to hold his hand while they walked down the street after a movie and to kiss him goodnight outside the apartment so they didn't have to deal with Santana's angry glare. He wanted to be everything that Kurt wanted him to be, and he hoped the smile on Kurt's face meant that he was doing a good job. He was happy Kurt seemed happy. Maybe everything was finally clicking into place.

But then his phone vibrated on the coffee table in front of them, interrupting the moment that Blaine wanted to get lost in forever and in turn causing the bubble that he'd formed around them to burst. Because the name on the display read Mom, but it meant so much more than that. Blaine eyed Kurt who had looked back at the television. He could take the call in front of Kurt, but that would be rude. He could excuse himself and take the call in the hallway. Or he could ignore the call completely. He was leaning toward the last option. He was having a nice night with Kurt; his mother had no place in any of it.

"You should answer that," Kurt said, "I don't mind."

And then the choice was made for him. He hesitantly reached for his phone and hit the green button to greet his mother.

"Hi, mom," Blaine said.

"Blaine, honey. I haven't heard from you in a few weeks. Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, mom," Blaine said, his voice awkward and he could tell by the look on Kurt's face and the next words out of his mother's mouth that he wasn't going to be able to cover up, "Just busy with work."

"Is something wrong, Blaine? You sound like you're in pain. Are you at home?"

"I'm fine, mom. And no, I'm not at home."

"Where are you? Are you with Wesley?"

"No, I'm at a friend's house," Blaine said his eyes flicking to Kurt as the regret washed over him because he could see the confusion in his eyes.

"Who?" Blaine's mom asked making Blaine feel like he was seventeen again and he had to alert his parents of every move he made.

Blaine never wished that his mother wasn't his mother more than he did in that moment, "His name's Kurt, mom."

"Does he work with you?"

"No, mom. We met at, uh-we met at a restaurant."

"Oh," Blaine's mom responded, "Well-"

"Hey, mom I've got to go. It's rude to be on the phone."

"Oh, ok, Blaine. Please call me soon, I miss you."

"I miss you too, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Blaine," his mom said, "I love you."

"Bye mom," Blaine said before hanging up the phone, holding it loosely in his hand as he looked at Kurt, "I'm sorry. That was—I should have taken that somewhere else."

"You—you haven't told you're parents about me?"

"Did you tell your parents about me?" Blaine asked avoiding Kurt's question with one of his own.

"My dad knew about you before we were even dating," Kurt explained.

"Great, so he hates me."

"He doesn't hate you," Kurt said before bringing them back to the conversation at hand, "Blaine, are you—are you—is there a reason you didn't tell you mom about me?"

"Yes," Blaine said, "But it has nothing to do with you, I swear."

"Because if you don't want

"Hey, no. You're wonderful, and I want this, I'll tell you every day if I have to," Blaine said reaching over and grabbing a hold of Kurt's hand, holding it tightly between his own, afraid that if Kurt broke the connection right now, Blaine might shatter into so many pieces, "But-But she can't be disappointed in something she doesn't know about."

"Disappointed," Kurt repeated bewildered, "I thought you said you came out to them."

"They know," Blaine explained, "I'm not sure that they accept or understand it. There were always certain expectations that needed to be met in the Anderson household. Get good grades, date a nice girl. My brother barely got through high school and dated most the cheerleading squad. I got straight A's but wasn't interested in girls. For a while I think they blamed themselves. What had they done so terribly wrong with me that they didn't do with Cooper? So they didn't—they don't—approve, but they never kicked me out or told me I was filthy, so I guess I got it better than a lot of kids. But it's just turned into one of those things that weren't talked about. So as much as I'd like to tell my mother about my amazing boyfriend who completely threw my world off its axil, I can't."

Kurt smiled at Blaine for two reasons. The first was because Kurt needed to offer Blaine support. He knew that everyone wasn't lucky enough to have Burt Hummel as their father. Kurt knew his father's acceptance was a rare thing and it was clear that Blaine was missing that from his parents. He didn't even feel comfortable telling his parents that he was in a relationship because he knew the discontent it would cause for his family. He hated that Blaine had to go through that, and on some level he understood why Blaine chose to part of his life in secret. But Kurt had also smiled because it was the first time that Blaine had opened up to him like that. Kurt knew a lot about what Blaine had done with his life, sports, college, work, but he'd never before gotten this kind of glimpse into the things that made Blaine who he was; the things that explained the apprehension that Blaine had about relationships. It wasn't everything, Kurt knew that, but it was a start. And Kurt knew that if Blaine continued to be this open with him, nothing else mattered, and they'd be just fine.

* * *

**AN:** You guys are seriously amazing! Thanks for reading! Just an FYI, I doubt I'm going to get an update out next weekend. I'm taking a long weekend for my birthday so I won't have much time to write until after Saturday. But I will get it to you as soon as I can! But hey, the boys are back this week!

Let me know what you think!


	6. Chapter 6

AN: Sorry about the delay guys! It's been a little crazy over here. But here we go. And it's time to finally get the ball rolling on some things. I don't want to make any promises about updates, but I'm going to get started tomorrow night.

R&R?

PS. Have you guys heard the songs for this Thursday's episode? I'm so excited. Though not so much about the season almost being over!

* * *

"Blaine, we're worried about you," David said on Monday when he, Wes, Nick and Jeff gathered around Blaine's desk at the office. Their boss, Mr. Figgins, was gone on a business lunch and they weren't expecting him back for a few hours. It was have been intimidating had he not gone through college with both Wes and David and had met both Nick and Jeff when he joined the company a few years back and had grown pretty close to them all, "You haven't been out with us in weeks."

That was true. He hadn't been out with the guys in a while because he was spending most of his time with Kurt. But none of the guys knew that because he hadn't told any of them about Kurt save for a brief mention to Wes, because he wanted to keep Kurt to himself. These guys knew that he hadn't ever been a relationship kind of guy. But now the idea of going to a bar and drinking beer while he watched everyone else trying to pick up girls didn't sounds as appealing as cuddling up on Kurt's couch watching TV and just being together.

"I've been busy," Blaine lied.

"Doing what?" David asked.

"Does this have anything to do with, oh what was his name? Kurt?" Wes interjected.

"Who's Kurt?" Jeff asked.

"Blaine's not just once boy toy," Wes explained.

"Boyfriend," Blaine corrected with a surge of something, happiness, pride, a delicious mixture of the two, "He-He's my boyfriend."

"You're what?" Nick said flabbergasted, "Someone made Blaine Anderson make a commitment."

"This is exactly why I didn't tell any of you," Blaine said

"The sex must be phenomenal if he's got you coming back regularly," Wes joked.

"Oh my—can you please not talk about him like that?" Blaine begged.

"Do you have pictures? Is he on Facebook? Can I stalk him?" Nick asked pulling out his phone.

"What? No. Guys, really, If you stop for two seconds I'll tell you what you need to know," Blaine said.

All four men immediately closed their mouths, their eyes on Blaine burning holes of anticipation into Blaine's skin.

"His name is Kurt. We met at Minetta Tavern where he's a waiter. He lives with his crazy lesbian best friend who hates me and isn't talking to him because we're together. We haven't had sex yet and if even if we had, I'm not telling any of you anything. This isn't like the other guys. Kurt is special," Blaine said with a smile that he couldn't have fought if he tried.

"Holy crap, Blainers is in love," David said.

"I am not," Blaine said his eyes widening a bit in panic, "We've only been together like a month."

"Which for you is thirty days longer than normal," David said, "And if he got you to commit and he's not putting out I need to meet this man. I think he's God."

"You guys—"

"Anderson!" a voice boomed startling all five men to turn quickly to see their boss, Mr. Figgins, walking briskly through the door and in the direction of his office, "My office. Now!"

Suddenly Blaine would've given anything to have the boys continue to tease him about Kurt. But as Wes, David, Nick and Jeff silently went back to their desks, he knew the fun was over. He took a deep breath, trying to rack his brain for any reason that he could be in trouble, but couldn't come up with a single one. So he got up, heart beating furiously in his chest, and walked past the desks where Nick and David sat, their backs toward him, offering no support. As he hesitantly approached the threshold of Mr. Figgin's office, he took a deep breath and stood in the doorway waiting for Mr. Figgins to look up from the papers on his desk that he was scribbling furiously on.

"Get in here Anderson. And close the door," Mr. Figgins said without looking up.

Blaine did was he was told, feeling like a child about to be reprimanded by their parent or teacher, though he was almost certain that he'd done nothing wrong. He performed well and had gained three clients in the last month since the Mr. Dawson disaster, which he knew was more than he could say for all four of his friends.

"Sit down," Mr. Figgins said, again without looking up from his paperwork.

Blaine sat down in the nice chairs that Mr. Figgins kept across from his desk and his eyes focused on his hands that were clasped together in front of his on his lap. After a few more minutes of silence and scribbling, Mr. Figgins finally looked up at Blaine and when Blaine's eyes met his, he was relieved to not find any anger in his grey eyes.

"Anderson, I just got back from a very important meeting with the head of Cohen-Chang Pharmaceutical Partners and I think we've got a great opportunity. I need you to push CCPP to all your clients and make this mandatory with any new ones you get. I'm putting you in charge of making this happen for us. Which means making sure your little gang out there knows that this is important. If this goes well, this could mean good things for everyone in this building, especially you. We could be looking to move someone up once this really takes off."

Blaine nodded because this was what he'd been hoping for for the last six months. The opportunity to take himself to the next level and it was literally being handed to him as Mr. Figgins handed him a stack of information about CCPP across the desk and into Blaine's hands. And when he left the office and returned to his desk, he was buzzing with excitement. This was his chance and there was no way he was going to let it slip away.

* * *

Kurt was immersed in the latest issues of Vogue when his phone buzzed beside him on the couch. The apartment was empty since Santana was spending the night at Brittany's and Blaine had plans with some people from work. Kurt loved Santana and he was completely infatuated with Blaine, but it was nice to have some time to himself. Which was why he was slightly annoyed that his phone was ringing. But when Kurt looked and saw that it was Finn, he smiled slightly before answering the phone. It had been a while since he'd spoken to his brother.

"Little bro," Finn said on the other hand before Kurt could even manage to say hello.

"Finn," Kurt said, "It's good to hear

"Yeah, man, you too. I heard you've got a boyfriend now," Finn said, "Congratulations, dude."

Kurt never understood why people congratulated others for finding significant others. Were people that convinced that there was no one out there that could find both his body and his mind attractive for more than a night, that the fact that they were wrong warranted a celebration? But he held his tongue because he knew there was no use in explain the error in Finn's thinking. Especially after Finn moved on to talk about his new girlfriend, Rebecca, and how she was a preschool teacher and had moved to Lima to be close to her elderly aunt. And then Kurt did something that shocked both of them.

"Finn, can I ask you something?" Kurt asked turning to Finn for advice for probably the first time in his life.

"Uh, sure," Finn said hesitantly, and Kurt knew that he was just bewildered by Kurt's request as Kurt was.

This was a last resort. He didn't want to bother his dad with guy problems, and Carole would likely tell Burt if Kurt were to turn to her. And with Santana out of the question, Finn was the only other person Kurt could go to for things like this.

"Finn, do you let Rebecca pay for things?"

"Like—"

"Like, when you go out to dinner, or to a movie, or whatever it is that you do. Do you let her pay for things or do you insist on paying for everything?"

Once Kurt finally heard himself ask the question out loud, he realized how absolutely ridiculous it sounded. There were a thousand different things that could complicate a relationship, but Kurt was focused something so petty. Their relationship was new, but he knew that he and Blaine were on the same page in terms of where their feelings were, so why couldn't he let that be enough?

"I don't think it's like a conscious decision or whatever," Finn answered, "I just pay."

"But _why_?" Kurt asked him.

"I dunno," Finn responded, "I guess cause the dude is always supposed to pay."

And then Kurt realized exactly why Blaine paying for everything was bothering him so much: because it made them unequal. It made Blaine the supporter and Kurt the equivalent of a housewife. It wasn't like that and he certainly didn't want it to be like that. He didn't want Blaine to see him as someone who needed to be taken care of, financially or otherwise. He had plans to make a name for himself; to be completely self-sufficient. And maybe sometimes his dad would still have to transfer a little money over to pay rent, but supporting his financially wasn't Blaine's job and their relationship would surely tank if Blaine continued to feel the need to take care of Kurt.

"Kurt, bro, you still there," Finn said pulling Kurt from his thoughts.

"Hey, Finn? Can I call you back tomorrow? There's, uh, something I've got to do."

"Yeah, man," Finn said, "It was good catching up."

"Yeah, it was. I'll talk to you soon."

"Later."

Kurt hung up the phone with the beginnings of a plan beginning to form in his head. He'd promised Blaine he was going to show him what relationships were all about, and he knew just the way to show him how this one was going to work.

* * *

Everything was set for Friday night. Kurt had the entire day off of work, Santana was going to be at work all night and Kurt had even called Brittany and had her invite Santana to spend the time over at her place, which Santana thankfully accepted. With the entire day to execute his plan he spent the morning doing to things. The first thing he did when he woke up was clean the apartment. It reminded him of the way Santana cleaned up before their dinner the night he had met Brittany. Everything had to be perfect and in the right place. Once everything was spectacularly clean, Kurt showered and then spent the early part of the afternoon trying to figure out what to wear. When he finally decided on a pair of dark jeans, a white button down and his grey collar vest. All the while he and Blaine, who was stuck in meetings most of the day, were texting, Blaine sneaking in little replies and calling Kurt on his lunch break.

"It's just a long and exhausting day," Blaine had said.

"Are you sure you still want to come over tonight?" Kurt had asked, hopeful that Blaine would still want to come over, but understanding if he wanted to do something else.

"After a day like today," Blaine said with a tiny sigh, "There is nowhere else I'd rather be."

It was those words that kept the smile on Kurt's face as he made arrangements for dinner. He'd originally thought about cooking but then he remembered that Blaine had texted him earlier in the week about how much he wanted Chinese from the place a couple blocks away from Kurt's apartment that he'd fallen in love with on one of their dates. So he left the fajitas for another day and ordered the honey sesame chicken for Blaine and the spicy eggplant for himself, making sure that it would arrive just before Blaine so that it was still hot when they sat down to eat.

Satisfied with all that he'd accomplished, Kurt sat down on the couch to finish the article he'd started reading in Vogue until the food, and then Blaine, arrived. The apartment was hushed, but he could hear Santana getting ready for work in her bedroom. She was humming along to a song Kurt couldn't hear; she probably had headphones in. He still couldn't get Santana to talk to him about much more than the rent and the weather. It hurt and some days he wondered if he was really choosing Blaine over her. But when he reflected on the whole situation, it was clear that he had enough room in his life for both of them. And Santana would have to be okay with sharing Kurt if she ever wanted to see him truly happy. Kurt missed his best friend but he knew that eventually she'd realize how ridiculous she was being. He just had to wait.

"I better not hear the echoes of your whimpers and sighs when I get back or you're paying for my therapy," Santana shouted as she was walked out of her bedroom, purse and overnight bag on her shoulder, past him and straight out the door.

Yeah, they'd be just fine.

But tonight wasn't about sex. It wasn't really about physical intimacy at all. It was about emotions and the connection between them. Blaine to Kurt, Kurt to Blaine; both sides as strong and reliable as the other. It was about letting Blaine know they were in this relationship together. Equally.

But if he was being honest, the thought of moving his relationship with Blaine to that next level had been crossing Kurt's mind more and more recently. For Kurt, he wasn't waiting for a particular milestone in their relationship; he was just waiting for the moment to feel right. He and Blaine were like two teenagers, always on the cusp of more but afraid of pushing too far, too fast. They'd gone no farther than they had the night of their embarrassment of a first date. It was all hands over fabric and the slightest bit of skin, but it all caused the heat to begin to coil low in Kurt's belly. Kurt knew that he would know when the time was right' he just wished the moment would hurry up and get there.

Blaine arrived, bottle of wine in hand, just minutes after dinner had arrived. Kurt and Blaine sat close at the kitchen table, eating off each other's plates and talking light-heartedly. Blaine told Kurt about how he'd been put in charge of the CCPP project and then they laughed when Blaine told him the short version of the ambush he'd received Monday afternoon from his coworkers.

"They think you're a god," Blaine said as Kurt got up from the table, grabbing both of their empty plates and bringing them to the sink.

"Really now?"

"They want to meet you," Blaine said bashful.

"Really?" Kurt asked.

"Yes, but you really don't have to if you don't want to."

"I suppose they should at least meet the person who is keeping you from them all the time."

Kurt and Blaine laughed and Kurt agreed to accompany Blaine the next time they all went out. Everything was perfect. They were perfect. At least it was until Kurt spotted Blaine pulling his wallet out of the pocket of his jeans.

"Let me pay you back for this," Blaine said

"What? No," Kurt said, "This is my treat to you."

"You shouldn't have to—"

"You're my boyfriend and I want to."

"But—"

"Can you just let me do this for you?" Kurt barked and it startled himself as much as it had Blaine.

Blaine had never seen Kurt get mad outside with the exception of the night they met and how he spoke up to Mr. Dawson. And he certainly had never expected that Kurt would direct any frustration toward him. But he w

Blaine had never seen Kurt get angry save the night they met and it stunned him silent when Kurt' s voice thundered through the apartment, leaving behind it an uneasy silence and Blaine gaping at him, unsure of what to do next. They looked at each other, Kurt's eyes widened at the shock and guilt of his actions, Blaine's bewildered and cautious.

"Yeah, sure, okay," Blaine stammered putting his wallet back into the pocket of his jeans.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said quietly taking a step toward Blaine, "I shouldn't have snapped like that."

"Hey, no, it's okay. Let's just, uh, go watch a movie," Blaine said extending his hand, his eyes still cautious as if Kurt might reject him.

But Kurt took another step and extended his hand, placing it against Blaine's open palm, taking comfort in the warmth as Blaine closed his hand around Kurt's before leading them into the living room.

* * *

Kurt knew that he should talk to Blaine. He knew he should tell him about the things that were bothering him, the things that caused him to snap in the kitchen, ruining an otherwise perfect evening. But they both had swept Kurt's outburst under the rug and Kurt was currently cuddled into Blaine's left side, his head on Blaine's chest, his arm draped around Blaine's middle all while Blaine combed his fingers through Kurt's hair. The moment was unfairly perfect despite the end of their dinner and Kurt told himself that there was no need to ruin it. So he pushed the thoughts away, promising himself that he'd come back to them soon and gave into the feel of Blaine next to him, holding him. Because despite the issue of who was spending money, Blaine was good to him and Kurt was falling, and fast.

But it wasn't Kurt or Blaine who shattered the moment of serenity. It was Santana who came bustling through the door, slamming it behind her. She kept her head down as she rushed past the two men on the couch, but Kurt could tell from years of experience that Santana was crying. He could only watch, stunned, as she disappeared down the hallway and into her bedroom, the door closing with a thunderous boom that shook the pictures on the walls.

Kurt pushed himself into a sitting position, reluctant to leave the comfortable position he'd finally created for himself, but fully aware that he needed to go check on Santana.

"I should probably go see what's wrong," Kurt said before placing a quick kiss on Blaine's lips, "I'll be right back."

"I'll pause the movie," Blaine said with a smile that was immediately followed by a thank you from Kurt and another quick peck on the lips.

Kurt stood up and walked to Santana's bedroom door, knocking lightly against the door.

"San," Kurt called, "Can I come in?"

"No."

"Come on, Santana."

"Go away, Kurt."

"No," Kurt said firmly, "I know this door isn't locked so you can either tell me its okay to come in or I'm going to come in anyway."

"Fine," Santana groaned, "Just close the door behind you."

Kurt turned the knob and pushed the door open to find Santana sitting on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking as she continued to cry. He entered the room, closing the door behind him. The room was dark except for a tiny bit of moonlight that came through the curtains of the window. Kurt moved across the room to sit beside her on the bed, uncertain of how Santana would react. She was his best friend and despite the fact that they'd been going for so long without really speaking, he'd always be there for her at the drop of a hat. He wrapped a hesitant arm around Santana's shoulders, the only real comfort he could provide without knowing what was wrong, and was relieved when she immediately turned into him, pressing her head against his chest as she began to sob harder, her whole body shaking as she held tightly to the front of his Kurt's shirt like a lifeline. All Kurt could do was hold her tight against him and silently rub her back until she got everything out.

When she finally calmed down a little, her arms wrapped tightly around Kurt's middle, Kurt asked her in a whispered voice why she was so upset. When she'd left for work she'd been singing and smiling and teasing him even though they weren't speaking. Now, even though Kurt couldn't see her face, he knew that her mascara was all over her face, and probably his shirt, and that there wouldn't be a song tonight; at least not a happy once.

"Did something happy with Brittany?" Kurt asked hesitantly.

"No," Santana whispered, her voice a lifeless monotone.

"You want to tell me what did happen then?" Kurt asked trying to be supportive yet still push her to tell him what had happened.

"No."

"Santana," Kurt said moving so that he could look Santana in the eye as much as possible in the dark, reaching up to wipe away some of mixture of mascara and tears from her cheeks, "Come on."

"Fine," Santana said and Kurt could practically feel her eyes roll, "I got fired."

"Fired?" Kurt said shocked, "For what?"

Santana released her hold of Kurt and sat up straight, the passion back in her eyes as she told him the story, "This crazy bitch was getting frisky with Puckerman. And Puckerman was totally professional about it until she got behind the bar and then I went up to her and asked her to leave and she accused me of being jealous or something and I totally tried to keep my cool but then the bitch threw her drink in my face. Then I kind of went all Lima Heights on her."

"You didn't?" Kurt gasped.

"Oh, but I did. Bitch deserved it too. Unfortunately Trent only saw the part where I had a handful of the bitch's hair and kicked us both out of there. Told me to not come back."

"Santana, she could have called the cops. You could have been arrested."

"I'm aware," Santana said crossing her arms across her chest.

"I'm just glad you're okay," Kurt said putting his hand on her shoulder.

"Okay?" Santana said, "Kurt, things are far from okay. I don't have any money saved up. I've got what's in my account now, which isn't much since rent was due last week, and whatever my last check from Minetta is going to be. Kurt, I've got approximately a New York minute to find a new job or I'm on the first plane back to Lima to live with my parents."

"We'll figure something out," Kurt said.

"I love you and your unrealistic optimism," Santana said, the smallest twitch of a smile showing in the moonlight.

"I love you too, Santana," Kurt

"Good. Now can we please pull drink that wine we have so I can at least spend the rest of this evening intoxicated and pretending my problems don't exist."

"We were saving that for your birthday," Kurt said.

"Well then it's my wine and I want to drink it now."

"Fine," Kurt said, "but I'm only giving in to this because you've had a bad day."

"Good. And I want pizza. Are you hungry?"

"No, Blaine and I—"Kurt said, "Crap! Blaine is still here."

"Well get him out of here," Santana said sharply, "And before you say anything I really just don't want to see Mr. Money to see my puffy eyes or watch me stuff my face until I'm the size of Time Square."

"I'll go talk to him," Kurt said standing up and kissing Santana's forehead before and made his way toward the door.

"Hey, Kurt," Santana called after him.

"Yeah?" Kurt said turning around to look at his best friend.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Kurt left Santana alone and walked back into the living room, the light harsh after spending so long in the dark bedroom. He'd expected to see Blaine where he'd left him, but instead he found him by the door with his shoes and jacket on, placing his phone in his pocket.

"I wasn't going to leave without saying goodbye, I swear," Blaine said coming to stand in front of Kurt, reaching out to hold his hand.

"How much of that did you hear?" Kurt said entwining their fingers together.

"What is Lima Heights?" Blaine asked.

"For everyone's sake, let's hope you never find out."

"She'll be alright?" Blaine asked.

"I honestly don't know," Kurt told him, "She's doesn't really have any money saved up and I can't cover rent for both of us. But we'll worry about that tomorrow once the hang over she's likely to have subsides. Until then, she'll be just fine."

"Is there anything I can do?" Blaine asked, "If you need me to lend some money."

"That's incredibly nice of you Blaine, but you don't need to do that."

"I'm offering," Blaine said, "Just until she finds something else."

"I don't think she'd go for that," Kurt said, "She doesn't like relying on other people."

"And she hates me."

"She doesn't hate you."

"Well, just consider it," Blaine said, "I'd hate for you to lose this place because of this."

"You're amazing," Kurt said pulling his hand free from Blaine's put wrapping both arms around Blaine's neck leaning in and kissing him slowly, "And thank you for not making me feel like I'm kicking you out."

"She's your best friend, Kurt," Blaine said, "I understand."

"I'll call you tomorrow."

"Okay," Blaine whispered, "Go take care of her. I'll see myself out."

Kurt leaned in and kissed Blaine again, slightly upset that he wasn't going to give him the proper goodbye that he'd planned. But grateful because Blaine had been completely understanding. As Blaine headed toward the door, Kurt headed back toward the hallway.

"I want you in the living room in your PJs in ten minutes Santana Lopez!" Kurt shouted as he walked into his room to change.

Suddenly, tomorrow wasn't as easy as yesterday. Kurt needed to talk to Blaine about money; Santana needed money; Blaine offering to give Santana money so that she didn't have to move back to Lima wasn't solving any of Kurt's problems even though they could help Santana. But Santana was giving herself one night to forget that there was some important things that needed to be figured out. And if she could take a night, so would Kurt.


	7. Chapter 7

AN: Sorry for the super long wait! Life has just been a little crazy and motivation and inspiration for this story has been lacking. But I'm not giving up.

So without further adieu...I present Chapter 7! R&R? Please let me know what you think!

* * *

"You're not serious," Santana said sitting down on the couch, her cup of coffee in hand, crossing her legs underneath her and she sunk into the cushion.

Kurt and Santana spent the previous night drinking from the bottle of wine that they'd been saving for Santana's birthday the next month and eating pizza while watching Facts of Life reruns that Kurt had DVR'd from TV Land. They laughed and sang along with an Amy Winehouse album until they both passed out on the couch. It was light and carefree and the most fun they'd had with each other in a long time; too long.

But with the morning came a pot of coffee, breakfast and the time to face what both Kurt and Santana had been avoiding. Santana's life had been completely destroyed in a matter of minutes and she only had herself to blame. And Kurt, though he had no immediate drama, had to deal with the fact that he could very well lose his best friend and his apartment in one swift kick. And that was only made worse by the reminder that the only real solution they'd been offered came in the form of his boyfriend's money. The money Kurt was already trying to get Blaine to stop spending.

But neither Kurt nor Santana could afford to keep pretending that their problems didn't exist or that none of this was happening. And against his better judgment, Kurt told Santana about Blaine's offer as they moved from the kitchen to the living room.

"I wish I wasn't," Kurt said sitting down next to his best friend.

"You know what he's doing don't you?" Santana questioned seriously.

"What?"

"He's trying to pay you to sleep with him," Santana said, "And since that's illegal, he wants to pay me."

"That is absolutely ridiculous," Kurt said laughing, "Even for you."

"Well you haven't slept with him yet."

"No, we haven't."

"That wasn't a question," Santana said.

Kurt rolled his eyes. How had he gone this long without having a real conversation with Santana? She was being completely insane, but he missed this; he had missed her. And no, he and Blaine hadn't slept together. But that didn't mean that he was doing any of this so that he would. The moment would happen when it was right. Regardless if he was loaning Santana money.

"Can we focus on figuring out what you're going to do?" Kurt asked hoping that he could get Santana to focus on something other than his sex life.

"We've got three weeks until rent is due," Santana said looking Kurt in the eye.

"And if you don't have your share, we're going to get evicted," Kurt said, "I can't cover both of us."

"What about your stupid brother?"

"I'd like to keep my family out of this as much as possible," Kurt said pausing to take a sip of his coffee, "We ask Finn for money, he's going to tell my dad."

"Well that takes Papa Hummel out of the mix," Santana said, "What if we asked Puckerman?"

"He doesn't have that kind of money," Kurt said, "But we can ask him as a very last resort."

"Even after asking your boyfriend?"

"You can't take money from Blaine."

"And why not? He's got plenty of it."

"Because you've been absolutely terrible to him. And even then out of the goodness of his heart he offered to do this for you. But if you let him do this, it's not going to make anything better and it's not going to be fair to you or to him."

"Make anything better," Santana repeated, "Hummel, what the hell are you talking about?"

"It's nothing, just," Kurt said, "You can't take Blaine's offer."

"Is something wrong?" Santana, "He's not hurting you is he?"

"Oh my god, no," Kurt said, "It's just that—Santana, Blaine and I are in the beginning of our relationship. I'd rather not have my best friend borrowing money from him."

"Well if we can't do that and if I don't have a job in the next seven days, I'm packing my bags, leaving my girlfriend and my best friend and heading back to good ol' Lima," Santana said, "And you're homeless."

"Can't you go back and apologize to Trent? Can't we fix this?"

"You're being unrealistically optimistic again," Santana said, "And I don't think he'd take me. I'm not sure I'd want to go back there after all of that."

"One of us has to be until we sort this whole thing out," Kurt said, "Now go make yourself presentable. We've got start scouring the streets finding you some work."

"One of us has to be optimistic about this whole thing or we'd both end up crying until they physically came and removed us from the apartment," Kurt said placing his coffee cup down on the table in front of his, "Now go and make yourself look presentable. We've got to start scouring the streets to find you some work!"

"And if the streets fail us, I can start working on street corners," Santana said before adding, "and in back alleys."

Kurt rolled his eyes, "I don't think Brittany, myself or your _mother_ would appreciate that so let's hope for the best with our mission today."

"You're no fun," Santana said setting her coffee up down next to Kurt's before leaning over and kissing Kurt quickly on the cheek and vaulting off the couch and disappearing into her bedroom.

* * *

By Thursday afternoon, Blaine was ready to lead a team with his plan of attack on CCPP. He'd spent most of the day four days buried in research about the company and its previous trends, where it was trending now, and the history of the company. If there was a fact or statistic about Cohen-Change Pharmaceuticals, Blaine knew it. He had to know it in order to convince his older, more distinguished clients to invest in CCPP. You can't convince someone to put their hard earned money at risk when you respond with 'I don't know' to any of their questions.

But now, Blaine was certain that he could pull himself out of the reports and the articles and focus on his life again.

He hadn't seen Kurt since Friday night. And though part of it had to do with the fact that Santana had lost her job and she'd needed Kurt, but Blaine missed his boyfriend. Blaine found the relationship between Kurt and Santana a bit odd. One minute they could not be on speaking terms and the next they were using each other as a crutch without an apology, and without mention of the thing (which just happened to be him) that had been wedged between them. Maybe it was just the way best friends worked; Blaine had never had one. He'd had friends in high school, and he met Wes and David in college, but he never had that one person that he could rely on when things went to shit. He didn't have that person that he could tell all his secrets to.

Not that Blaine had a lot of secrets. But what surprised Blaine the most about his relationship with Kurt was that he wanted to tell Kurt things. They could be big things or little things, but he wanted to tell them all to Kurt. And he knew that no matter how ridiculous Blaine thought these things were, Kurt would never judge him or make fun of him for them.

When Blaine had to explain to Kurt why he hadn't told his parents about their relationship, when he'd told him how his parents weren't as tolerating as he'd wanted them to be, it had been one of the most open and vulnerable moments of Blaine's life. But somehow with Kurt holding his hand, he'd felt safe. To anyone else he'd describe his relationship with his parents as complicated, but he'd never told anyone before that the strain stemmed from Blaine's sexuality or how much he wished for his parent's approval, or how much it hurt that they seemed to treat him different because of who he was attracted to. But he wanted to tell someone, to tell Kurt, how much it hurt him. Because he knew, more than anyone else in his life, that Kurt would understand.

And all of that was absolutely terrifying to Blaine.

He'd been thinking about his relationship with Kurt a lot lately; especially since they hadn't seen each other in nearly a week. He'd smile every time his phone lit up and saw that he had a text from Kurt. But little things like Kurt texting 'I miss you' made him feel things that he wasn't sure how to classify. From someone who'd never really experienced love, how was Blaine support to know what love left like? Could something as simple as a text message make him feel love?

And when he texted back that he missed Kurt too, the intensity of it going unwritten, what did Kurt feel? Did Kurt's heart flutter at the sight of the words? Did the promise of plans on Saturday night make Kurt smile that thousand watt smile that Blaine liked so much. Did the idea of seeing Blaine in a few days make every minute that they hadn't been together worth it because they would be together soon? Did Kurt love Blaine? Was Blaine loveable?

Blaine thought back to the conversation, although rather inappropriate, about Kurt that he'd had with the guys in the office. He thought back to how Wes commented that relationships weren't this thing. That random guys and one night only was his thing. But that's not how it was with Kurt. In fact, for right now, Blaine didn't want to sleep with Kurt.

Was he attracted to Kurt? Of course. Kurt was without a doubt, the most striking person he'd seen in his entire life. But he was afraid that if they slept together, if they crossed that line that he'd get the overwhelming need to run that he'd gotten with every other guy before. He was afraid the panic would overwhelm him and he'd be out the door before he could come down from the high and he'd break Kurt's heart, and maybe even his own. He was fine with where they were at and Kurt hadn't pushed or made the suggestion to go any farther, so Blaine wouldn't mention it. When it was time, it would be time. And until then Blaine would enjoy every moment he had just being around Kurt.

Blaine was pulled from the thoughts of his boyfriend by his cell phone buzzing on top of his desk. He knew Kurt was at work and grimaced when he saw his father's name displayed on the screen. His father never called; it was always his mother who checked in on him from time to time. Blaine debating answering at all, but his father never called without purpose so he sighed heavily before answering.

"Hey, dad," Blaine said trying to at least seem excited to hear from his father.

"Blaine," the man on the other end said, "How are you?

"Fine," Blaine offered, "And yourself?"

"Great, just great," his father said.

Then there was a long moment where neither man spoke. Blaine could hear his father breathing and could hear the noise of the television in the background in his parent's house.

"Is everything alright, dad?" Blaine finally asked when the silence was too long and too uncomfortable.

"Yes, of course," his father answered in a tone that Blaine knew all too well. It was a firm tone that Blaine knew his father used when he was doing business, "I was calling to see what your plans are for Memorial Day weekend. Like every year, your mother and I are going to spend a week at the house in Greenwich and host our annual barbeque for the neighbors. We we're hoping that you would join us."

"That's next weekend," Blaine said.

"I know," Blaine's father said, "but we'd really appreciate if you came out here for this."

"I'll see what I can do. Work has me pretty busy right now," Blaine said though it wasn't entirely the truth. Part of it was work; the other part was Kurt, "Would you mind if I brought some friends?"

"Wes and David? Of course, not. They're more than welcome."

Those were not the friends that Blaine had in mind, but his father didn't need to know that yet, "Thanks dad. I'll get back to you this weekend with an answer."

"No problem, son," Blaine's father said, "I'll talk to you then.

"Yeah," Blaine said, "Bye dad.

The call ended and Blaine put his phone back down on his desk, stunned. He hadn't attended the Memorial Day barbeque in years and was surprised that his father had gone out of his way to call him and ask him to come. But Blaine saw the invitation not as an opportunity to be with his father, but an opportunity to introduce his family to the most important person in his life.

He wondered how Kurt and Santana felt about a little vacation.

* * *

"Squirt!"

"Good Morning to you too Cooper," Blaine said rubbing his hand over his face in an attempt to make himself alert after being rudely woken up by his ringing phone at an hour that definitely was before eight AM on a Saturday.

"Are you sitting down?"

"I was sleeping."

"Well you won't be when I tell you what has happened."

"What is it Coop?"

"I'm getting married!"

Blaine shot up in bed, his brother had been right, he was suddenly awake, though not any less confused.

"When?" Blaine questioned, "And to who?"

"The wedding is in six weeks and her name is Angela and she's my soul mate."

"How long have you known her?"

"Six months."

"Six months?!" Blaine said, "You're getting married to someone you've known for six months."

"Oh, little brother. When you know, you just know," Cooper said, "Not like you'd know mister I don't date."

"I'll have you know that I have a boyfriend."

"You're lying."

"I am not," Blaine said laughing, "His name is Kurt."

"Kurt, eh," Cooper questioned, "Well I guess if you were going to fake a boyfriend you'd give him a better name than Kurt."

"There is nothing wrong with his name," Blaine defended.

"No, there isn't," Cooper said, "But it just proves that he's not George Glass."

"You're ridiculous."

"So are you coming to my wedding or not? And please bring your boyfriend so I don't think you've gotten creative with me."

"I'll be there," Blaine said, "But I'll see what I can do about Kurt. He'll need to take a weekend off work."

"Tell him that I would be honored if he would attend and that I can't wait to meet him."

"I will," Blaine said, "Thanks Coop."

"Have you told mom and dad," Cooper asked, "about Kurt, I mean."

"No."

"Can you just show up to the wedding with him?" Cooper said completely serious, "Like no warning, just hey me and my equally gay boyfriend are here."

"I thought that weddings were about brides and grooms. Not their brothers and their boyfriend."

"You don't have to give us any money if you just do this for me Blaine. You won't even owe me a birthday present for like five years."

"No," Blaine said, "I'm flying out there next weekend for Memorial Day. I'll tell them then."

"Are you bringing Kurt?"

"I don't know yet. When I talked to Dad I told him I might be bringing two guests. But I haven't even asked them."

"And who might I ask is this second person?"

"His roommate, Santana."

"Is she hot?"

"Cooper, you're getting married."

"You're avoiding my question."

"She's hot Cooper. And your fiancé and her girlfriend might have a problem with you drooling over her."

"Don't you have any straight friends?"

"Yes, but they're all men."

"A tragedy I tell you," Cooper said, "Well Squirt, I've gotta run. But remember, Fourth of July weekend, you've got a very important date."

"I'll make sure to write it on my calendar Coop."

"And Blaine?"

"Yeah, Coop?"

"Congratulations on finding someone who can put up with your crazy," Cooper said, "He treats you well?"

"Yeah, he's amazing."

"Well, I can't wait to meet him," Cooper said, "Bye Squirt."

"Goodbye Cooper."

* * *

"So," Blaine said Saturday night while he and Kurt were cuddled up on the couch at Blaine's apartment, "I've got two events that I'd like to request the pleasure of having you accompany me to."

"Continue," Kurt said looking intrigued.

"My brother Cooper called this morning to tell me that he's getting married Fourth of July weekend."

"I don't remember you mentioning a girlfriend when you told me about your brother."

"That's because I didn't know she existed until this morning," Blaine explained, "Her name is Angela and they've known each other for six months."

"And they're getting married in," Kurt trailed off to count the days between then and July fourth, "like a little over a month."

"Six weeks," Blaine corrected, "Which is totally crazy."

"Why is it crazy?"

"Do you really think two people can bet married after six months and make it work?"

"It's not impossible," Kurt said, "It's kind of romantic. Which is silly, I know."

"I've just never seen Cooper with a serious girlfriend, let alone a fiancé or a wife."

"Sometimes when you know, you just know."

"That's what he said."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why didn't you do boyfriends," Kurt asked, "I mean before me. I don't think I've ever asked you why."

Blaine went to speak but closed his mouth several times. Each time there was a new explanation, a new reason, but he wasn't sure exactly how to explain it properly.

"I'd just never wanted one, I guess."

Kurt turned so he was facing Blaine more, "What didn't you want though? The responsibility? Did you not want to be tied down?"

"Can I tell you something?" Blaine asked, taking a risk and absolutely terrified that Kurt would shut him down.

"You can tell me anything," Kurt said.

Blaine smiled and reached over to Kurt's hand and laced their fingers together, squeezing gently, "You're kind of amazing, you know that right? And I'm honestly surprised you haven't kicked me to the curb because you deserve better."

Kurt opened his mouth to protest but Blaine cut him off, "I came into this relationship not having any idea what I was doing. I'm pretty sure I still don't. I've never had a relationship, romantic or otherwise, that I could count on one-hundred percent. My mom and dad were there, they were present, but they were never really good at showing affection in ways that didn't involve large amounts of money or grand lectures about how they were disappointed. It wasn't always apparent that they loved me or anyone really, not even each other. And Cooper. Well, he didn't really start caring about being a big brother until I was in college. And even then he's a little too egocentric for his own good.

"The spark, if there ever was one, disappeared from my parent's marriage before I could understand what was going on his this crazy world. So I have no idea what a functional relationship looks like outside of the movies. And those aren't reliable when it comes to dealing with the real world. So I guess the long story short is that I didn't want a boyfriend because I wasn't sure I could do it. I wasn't sure I could trust someone, and I wasn't sure if I was worthy of getting that trust in return. Plus, I'm not very good at romance."

Kurt smiled and pulled slightly at their interlocked hands, "Now, that, Blaine Anderson is an absolute lie. You're a romantic and you don't even know it."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Kurt said, "I recall a few instances where you sent me flowers for absolutely no reason and before my last audition."

"That was nothing," Blaine countered.

"That was something, Blaine," Kurt told him, "at least to me. You don't need to make big romantic gestures. The little ones are just fine."

"But you deserve big ones."

"Then you can work your way up to showing up at my door with a stereo raised over your head."

Blaine leaned over and kissed Kurt on the lips. It wasn't much, but it was the only way Blaine could think of showing Kurt how much he appreciated him Blaine felt the couch shift and then Kurt was in his lap, his legs straddling Blaine's waist. On instinct Blaine put his hands at Kurt's waist, stroking his hip through Kurt's jeans. Blaine pulled away put leaned his forehead against Kurt's, relishing in the way his insides vibrated just being so close to Kurt.

"I don't want you to feel that way about me," Kurt whispered his breath hot as it caressed Blaine's skin, "I want you to know that you can count on me. Completely, and for whatever you need."

Blaine only nodded and kissed Kurt again. This time it was deeper, more meaningful. As if he was trying to put all the words that he wanted to say but couldn't into the kiss. Because that unnamed feeling was there again with his hand at Kurt's waist, with his lips against Kurt's, with Kurt's arms wrapped around his neck, holding them together; holding him together. Blaine didn't know how to say what he was feeling, but he'd do his best to try and tell Kurt without words.

"I love you," Kurt whispered.

Blaine remained silent, but tightened his grip on Kurt. He didn't know much about love but what he did know was that his heart was beating a mile a minute, his entire body felt like it was overloaded with the most intense, unnamed emotion and Blaine wanted to do nothing but drown in it for the rest of his life. Was it love? The fact that he couldn't imagine spending one whole day without Kurt in his life? Was that love? Blaine didn't know. He wasn't sure. And he wouldn't say the words to Kurt until he was absolutely sure.

"Does this mean you'll be my date to Cooper's wedding?"

"Yes," Kurt said, "But you said there were two events you needed to ask me about? What was the other one?"

"Oh, next weekend is Memorial Day, as I'm sure you know. My dad called today and asked me to join my family for this annual get together they host in Greenwich."

"You want me to meet your family?"

"Of course, I do," Blaine said with a smile, "I can't keep you hidden forever can I?"

"Blaine, I would love to," Kurt said, "But with Santana not working at the restaurant anymore, we're kind of shorthanded and I told them I'd work Monday for the lunch rush."

"And you can't just ask them to take her back?"

"Believe me, I've tried," Kurt said, "Trent doesn't seem to care about what this is doing to Santana. The rest of us are picking up the slack until they find a replacement."

"Fine," Blaine said with an exaggerated sigh, "I was going to invite Santana along. Maybe I'll just take her instead."

"You will do no such thing," Kurt said smiling, "If you're going to leave me, you can't take her too."

"I'll be gone for three days."

"I don't care," Kurt said, "I'll miss you."

"Maybe I won't go," Blaine mused, "Maybe I'll just stick around here."

"Santana and I are going to grill when I get off work," Kurt explained, "you're more than welcome to join us."

Blaine thought for a moment and then smiled. He had a perfect excuse to decline the invitations, "Okay," Blaine said, "Has Santana given any thought to my offer?"

"She has," Kurt said, "But we're considering other options first."

"Does she have any?"

"Not really," Kurt said honestly, "But she has a few more days until we reach the point where she either has a job and some money coming in soon or she doesn't.

"Then she should take me up on my offer," Blaine said.

"I liked you better when you were kissing me," Kurt said before he leaned in and pressed his lips against Blaine's. He didn't want to talk about this anymore.

And, for the moment, the topic was dropped.

* * *

Telling his father that he wasn't going to be joining them in Greenwich after all had led to clear disappointment in his father's voice and a 'but sweetheart we haven't seen you in months' from his mother that made Blaine feel just a little bit guilty. But he pushed that away the moment he arrived at Kurt's apartment for their barbeque. And this one didn't contain a thousand questions about when he was going to settle down and start a family from a bunch of people who didn't know any better.

It wasn't anything fact, just Blaine, Kurt, and Santana gathered around the kitchen table eating burgers and hotdogs that Santana had made on the grill that was outside on their balcony, and fruit salad that Kurt was making when Blaine arrived. There was still an awkward tension between himself and Santana but he knew that there were more important things to be worried about and did his best to ignore it.

As Kurt started on the dishes that he insisted on doing, Blaine snuck out onto the balcony. The sun was reaching the horizon to the west, bringing with it a bit of heart from the day. He leaned against the railing and looked out to the city around him. A few moments later he felt someone the presence of someone behind him, but knew that it wasn't Kurt. Blaine didn't turn around and then Santana appeared next to him, leaning against the railing as the light breeze blew her hair around her face.

"He doesn't want me to take your money," Santana said not looking at Blaine, but out into the city.

"Why not," Blaine said his gaze towards the skyline as well.

"I don't know," Santana said, "But time is up and I'm out of options. Puckerman can't help me but he said that Kurt can stay with him until he finds a new apartment."

"So that's it? You're leaving?"

"You sound upset," Santana commented.

"You're Kurt's best friend. This is his home," Blaine explained, "I guess I don't want him to lose either of those things."

"Look, Blaine," Santana said finally turning to look at him. Blaine turned his head to meet her gaze, "I don't like you. And I don't trust you, but Kurt does. And I trust him with everything. My best friend and my girlfriend are in New York and there is nowhere else I'd rather be. And because of that, I'm willing to make a deal with the devil."

"I'm the devil," Blaine asked with a laugh.

"Not exactly," said Santana, "but Kurt is certainly going to be mad at me after I do this, so it's pretty damn close."

"How much do you need?"

"Rent is three-hundred a month, utilities are another two, and groceries are a hundred. My phone is another hundred. I don't need you to pay for anything else, but I do need you to do one thing for me."

Blaine eyed Santana curiously.

"I need you to take good care of my boy in there," Santana said sternly, "I need you to treat him like the prince that he is. And if you don't, I don't care how much money you've loaned me, I will take you out. Do you hear me? I will go all Lima Heights on your ass and you will regret the day you were born. Do you understand me?"

"Yes, of course," Blaine said, "I'd never—"

"Don't feed me bullshit, just do it."

"I will."

"Good," Santana said, "Now I've got to go meet Brittany. So feel free to tell Kurt about our little deal because he's less likely to kill you than me. So do we have a deal? We'll get something in writing and I will pay you back every red cent."

"Yeah," Blaine said, "We have a deal."

"Good," Santana said, "You know Blainers. Maybe you're not half bad."

"Thanks, Santana. I think."

Santana winked at him before going back into the apartment. A moment later he heard her shout on her way out the door, "I'm going to Britt's and I won't be back until tomorrow! Oh and by the way, Blaine is my new sugar daddy! I love you goodnight!"

The door slammed behind her and from the balcony, Blaine saw Kurt come out from the kitchen, his hand that was holding a dish towel on his hip and his jaw slack.

* * *

I don't to make any guesses when the next update will be, but it might be a while. There will also be another story coming from me in the next couple of weeks, but I have not forgotten about this and I am still working on it. (Cooper's wedding is coming up next!).


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Hey Guys! Sorry it's been so long. I hope everyone is doing alright after these last couple of weeks. The glee family (cast, crew, fans) has lost a very big part of our world and my heart breaks every day. He is loved and will be greatly missed.

This update is one of my favorite things I've written for Klaine in a long time, possibly ever. I did some plotting and I think we're like 3 or 4 chapters til the end and a lot of what happens in this chapter is going to start to drive us that way. And some of it will be pretty heavy given what we as a fandom have been going though. But please review and let me know what you think!

This ones for you, Cory.

* * *

The sun had barely peaked above the horizon when a thunderous banging started on the door of Kurt and Blaine's LA hotel room. Startled awake, Kurt felt the weight of Blaine pressed against his back, his boyfriend's arm resting against his waist. It had been nice to fall asleep next to each other after a long day of traveling, but Kurt had been hoping for a nicer time waking up.

"Squirt open up," a voice said on the other side of the door, "and make sure you have pants on."

Kurt finally opened his eyes when felt Blaine groan awake next to him, "Squirt?" Kurt questioned still groggy, "Either someone's drunkenly knocking on our door or you've got a nickname I get to tease you about."

"It's my brother," Blaine said, his voice raspy when he first woke up, Kurt liked it. Blaine rolled over and pulled himself out of bed, "Don't move. I want to get back in this bed and go right back to what we were doing."

Kurt rolled onto his back and listened as Blaine opened the hotel room door.

"Cooper, it's barely six am," Kurt heard Blaine say.

"I don't care," Cooper said his voice getting closer, louder, and Kurt knew that Blaine's brother was now inside the hotel room, "I'm getting married in six hours and I need my best man to help me get ready. And make sure I don't walk down the aisle completely drunk."

"Best man," Blaine questioned, "You never said anything about me being your best man."

"It should have been implied, Blainers," Cooper said, "You're my little brother. I expect you to return the favor one day. Speaking of matrimony, where is your boyfriend?"

"He was asleep until you came knocking on the door with Thor's hammer," Blaine said.

Kurt sat up in bed. He knew at some point this weekend he'd meet all of Blaine's family, but he'd never expected to meet Blaine's brother right after he'd woken up, his hair ruffled from sleep and before he'd had a chance to shower or change out of his pajamas. He reached over and turned the light on next to the bed, bathing the room and everyone in it with a dull orange light. Blaine had showed Kurt a picture of Cooper and his parents before they'd left New York but that hadn't prepared Kurt for seeing Cooper in person. He looked very much like Blaine; the only big difference was Cooper's blue eyes and that Blaine's hair was curly and Cooper's only had a slight wave to it where it sat on top of his head. He wore jeans and a t-shirt as he walked over to the bed and extended his hand towards Kurt who took it and smiled as Blaine introduced them.

Well at least neither of them had been naked.

"Do you mind if I steal this guy for a few hours," Cooper asked pointing his thumb in Blaine's direction, "I kind of need my baby brother right now."

"Yeah," Kurt said, "Of course. Who am I to forbid the groom his brother on his wedding day?"

"You're sure," Blaine questioned.

"Of course," Kurt said turning his eyes towards Blaine, "I'll go wake Santana up and we will occupy ourselves until the wedding."

"That's the hot lesbian, right?" Cooper asked.

Blaine rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Coop, can you give me ten minutes to change. I'll meet you out in the hall."

"Fine," Cooper said with a smile before walking towards the door, "But don't think I don't know what you're doing. You only need five minutes to get ready."

"And I need a lot longer to do what you think we're about to do so would you please get out of here?"

Cooper left the hotel room and the moment the door shut behind him, Blaine threw himself back onto the bed, burying his face into the pillow.

"You know I don't have to go with him," Blaine said looking over at Kurt, "I can stay with you and he can just assume we're having massive amounts of sex."

"He already thinks that," Kurt said going back to a laying position so that he was face to face with Blaine. They may have just been sleeping but that was their first morning waking up next to each other and it had been tainted by the arrival of Cooper Anderson, "And it's nice that your brother wants you to help him get ready. You should go spend time with him."

Blaine reached over cupping the side of Kurt's face that wasn't pressed into his pillow in his hand, rubbing his thumb along Kurt's cheek before leaning over and kissing him quickly, "You're amazing."

"I'm even more amazing when I get a chance to shower," Kurt said, "I really wasn't planning on meeting your brother looking the way I do right now."

"You," Blaine said, adding a kiss to Kurt's lips for emphasis, "Look amazing right now. I liked waking up next to you."

"Even though we were rudely awoken by your brother?"

"Even though we were rudely awoken by my brother."

They kissed again. But this time quick and as Blaine's tongue slipped between Kurt's it was far from chaste.

They kissed again. But this time the quick chaste kisses are replaced with languid sensual kisses that are far from chaste as Blaine's tongue slipped between Kurt's parted lips. Kurt suddenly regretted allowing Cooper to take Blaine away from him. Because he wanted to stay wrapped up in Blaine's arms for the rest of the day. He'd even miss the wedding if it meant that he and Blaine could stay in that bed in that hotel room, and forget that the rest of the world existed.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready," Kurt asked when he pulled away just enough so that he could feel his own breath warm as it ghosted over Blaine's skin.

"You heard Cooper," Blaine said kissing him again, "It only takes me five minutes to get ready."

* * *

Kurt had always loved weddings. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't been planning his own, updating a few details every couple of years, since he was eight. Everything from the flowers, to the centerpieces, to the outfits of every single person, including the guests, was hidden in a binder in the back of his closet, full of notes and cut outs from magazines. When that day finally arrived for him, Kurt would be ready. And then he'd surely change everything.

Cooper's wedding was going to be just as beautiful and whimsical as Kurt imagined all weddings should be. He sat next to Santana on the groom's side of the gathering that was being held outside in a beautiful garden behind an equally beautiful dining hall that had a large dance floor that Kurt hoped he'd get a chance to dance with Blaine on. It felt nice to take a little vacation with his best friend and his boyfriend. They only arrived in Los Angeles the night before; unable to come any earlier because of Kurt's work schedule. But they'd finally found a replacement for Santana and Kurt was finally able to get some real time off.

They sat in the back row of seats, hoping to avoid any questions; specifically "who are you?" from any of Blaine's family. Kurt hadn't seen Blaine since Cooper took him away. Blaine's sent multiple text messages apologizing for leaving him along but Kurt hadn't minded too much. Once he got Santana out of bed and they had breakfast, Kurt distracted himself with making Santana and himself as presentable as he could. He would meet Blaine's parents today. The parents who didn't even know Blaine was dating anyone. And after the way he'd met Cooper that morning, he needed to make sure meeting Mr. and Mrs. Anderson was a much more pleasant experience.

"So," Santana said as she took in everyone who was gathered around them, most of them seated, "My money is on you and Blainers being the ones having the dirty wedding sex."

"Really?" Kurt said humoring his best friend, knowing better than to be shocked.

"Yep. It's you two or Malibu Barbie over there," Santana said gesturing to one of the guests sitting on the bride's side, "But I think she'll just get a bunch of guys hitting on her all night and then she'll just go home, alone; which is why my money is on you."

"You're ridiculous."

"It's my psychic Mexican _third eye_," Santana said pointing to the space between her eyebrows on her forehead, "I always know these things."

Kurt rolled his eyes as only he could towards his best friend. But his mind flash briefly to an image of himself and Blaine hidden in the coat room. Because that's where all the dirty wedding sex happened, right?

"I totally don't get why you two aren't doing it yet," Santana said.

Kurt didn't answer her. What could he say? That he wanted to but he wasn't sure that Blaine did. That he'd told Blaine that he loved him and he'd been kissed in response. He hadn't told Santana about any of that and now definitely wasn't the time. But he was saved when everyone was asked to take a seat and the ceremony began.

Angela's dress was gorgeous and a real show stealer for everyone as she walked down the aisle. But most of Kurt's attention stayed on Blaine. From the moment Blaine walked down the aisle with the tall brunette who was the maid of honor, Kurt's eyes were focused on his boyfriend. Blaine, who looked absolutely gorgeous in anything, took his breath away in a suit that Kurt knew was not the one he'd packed for this even. He looked stunning, amazing, beautiful and a bunch of other adjectives that escaped Kurt's brain due to sheer intensity of it all.

"Hummel, you're drooling," Santana whispered nudging him with her elbow.

Kurt didn't move his eyes away from Blaine, but he blinked and closed his mouth and did his best to give the bride a bit of his attention. It was her wedding after all. But his eyes always found their way back to Blaine.

Kurt blinked and closed his mouth and did his best to give the bride a bit of his attention. It was her wedding after all, she deserved it. But his eyes always found their way back to Blaine, drawn to him like the tide to the shore.

* * *

The most awkward part about going to a wedding where you don't actually know the bride or the groom was that you don't know anyone else either. Santana and Kurt walked into the giant reception hall, finding their seats at the table in the corner, sat down and watched everyone around them say hello and make introductions. Kurt and Santana would just have to sit quickly and talk amongst themselves until Blaine arrived.

Santana had finally convinced Kurt that if they were going to just sit there, they might as well be drinking while they did it. So that was how Kurt found himself standing at the bar ordering the first of what he assumed would be many rounds of drinks, at least for Santana, when he felt a seat of arms encircle his waist and something strong and sturdy press against his back

"You know," Kurt said, "My date might not approve of random men groping me like this in public."

"You're date, huh?"

"Yes, my date. She's a gorgeous, feisty, totally inappropriate lesbian who is giving me the evil eye because I left her alone without any alcohol."

Blaine laughed, "She'll get you and her alcohol back in a few minutes."

"My date's feelings aside," Kurt said, "What are you parents going to think when they walk in here to see you pressed against some stranger."

"Let's not think about that because it won't be pretty," Blaine said taking a small step back, "But I did promise Cooper a little shock and awe so maybe I'll press you against the bar and stick my tongue down your throat."

"Blaine, seriously," Kurt said.

"Yes, seriously. And we don't have to worry about my parents just yet. Apparently my mother had some kind of wardrobe issue and she has to go back to the hotel room and change."

"And the rest of your family," Kurt asked nervously.

"No one is paying attention to us," Blaine said, "Except for Santana who I can feel staring lasers in the back of my head so we better get back to her."

His hand on the small of Kurt's back, Blaine led Kurt to their table where they were greeted by an ardently thirsty Santana.

* * *

When Blaine's parents did arrive, they were immediately swept up into a sea of relatives, congratulating them and making terrible jokes about how soon they'd be grandparents. Blaine was just grateful that they hadn't started the "you're next, Blaine" comments because that would have just been awkward for him and for Kurt. It was no secret, at least for his side of the family, that he was gay. Like his parents, most of them swept it under the proverbial rug and ignored it. But at some point tonight they'd have to acknowledge that that part of his existed. There was a very attractive man sitting next to him at the table in the corner that he'd spent the previous night sharing a bed with, who he'd woken up next to that morning and kissed while his brother waited outside much longer than ten minutes, who had told him that he loved him. If they hadn't noticed how, as Santana put it, disgustingly in love, they were by now they would know it by the end of the evening. And even though Blaine hadn't exactly figured out what to name his feelings towards Kurt, the idea of being called "disgustingly in love" didn't make Blaine feel disgusted one bit.

Blaine excused himself just before dinner to talk to his grandparents; he'd bring Kurt over to meet them later. He didn't know how they'd react and he didn't want to ruin anything about this day for Angela or Cooper. He stopped at the bar on his way back to the table for drinks for everyone and was intercepted by both of his parents, smiles on their faces.

"Blaine," his mother said, "We've been looking all over for you. You should make a toast for your brother."

"Yeah, sure," Blaine said, "Of course."

"Who're they," Blaine father asked.

Blaine looked behind him at Santana and Kurt looking at something on Santana's phone. Now was as good of a time as any. He turned back to his parents, "That is Santana. And that," Blaine said, "is Kurt. My boyfriend."

"You're what," Blaine's father asked, his voice tense.

Blaine ignored the tone of his father's voice. He was upset but he needed his parents to know about Kurt. And, honestly, Blaine wanted to show his parents how happy he was; how happy Kurt made him. Blaine turned around and called over to Kurt, asking him to join him.

"You didn't tell us you had a boyfriend," his mother said.

Kurt approached the group sheepishly, like if he came on too quickly or too strong then they might get startled and attack.

"Mom, Dad," Blaine said once Kurt stood next to him, "This is Kurt Hummel. My boyfriend."

To Blaine's horror, both of his parents were momentarily statues, unmoving with blank faces. It was a moment that felt like an eternity. It was his mother who recovered first, extending her hand to meet Kurt's. He wondered what had shocked them more. The fact that he had a boyfriend or the fact that he had the balls to bring him to the wedding. His mother plastered on a smile, but Blaine's father's face told a different story. He looked upset; angry even. As if the very notion of Blaine having a boyfriend made him so uncomfortable that he couldn't even fake politeness. Something he'd been taught to do as a child.

His father looked sick, his breathing coming in short shuttering breaths, and that made Blaine cringe. Not for himself, but for Kurt who had to watch as his father became sick at the thought of him, of them, and who they were because of who they loved.

"Honey, are you alright," Blaine's mother said looking at her husband.

Blaine wanted to scream. He could feel Kurt standing nervously beside him and his heart broke. Because he finally told his parents that he had a boyfriend. A _boyfriend_. That thing he told himself he didn't want or need but now that he had, he never wanted to get rid of. He finally mustered up the courage to be himself in front of his parents and his father was rejecting him. He might as well have spat in Blaine's face. He felt humiliation for himself and for Kurt who Blaine had selfishly subjected to his family. His family he would never be happy for him.

"I need to sit down," Blaine father said his voice strained as if he was fighting to keep his breathing even.

Taking him around the middle, Blaine's mother guided his father towards the table where Santana had been sitting, watching silently as everything played out.

Blaine's father sat down taking deep breaths. Blaine just watched silently. His father's face growing red as he coughed.

"He has cancer," Blaine's mother said as if someone had asked her to explain his father's behavior.

Blaine stared at his mother with wide eyes, his jaw hanging from its hinges, "W-what," he muttered, his anger largely replaced by bewilderment and the beginnings of sadness.

"Lung cancer," his mother said as if the specification of what kind of cancer his father had was explanation enough for the entire thing.

"But he's never sm0ked a cigarette in his life," a voice said. He couldn't see who was speaking but he knew that Cooper speaking behind him.

Blaine didn't turn around. He just kept watching his father huddled over trying desperately to get air into his lungs. How had this happened? How had he not known that his father had been keeping this secret? And now in front of a large room full of wedding guests, his secret was exposed, lay bare for everyone to see, to know, to comment on, and to scrutinize.

Finally, his father learned back in the chair, his face still red but he was breathing steadily now. Inhales and exhales that made the feeling return to Blaine's entire body and when it did, he felt a weight in his hand. It was soft and made of something familiar. It was without a doubt Kurt's hand in his, anchoring him, holding Blaine together without or words, but with just the touch of his hand. As long as Blaine held on to Kurt's hand he knew everything would be alright.

"I'm fine," his father said brushing Blaine's mother's hand away.

But the damage had been done. What had been a beautiful ceremony and what promised to be a reception worthy of the celebration of love, and admittedly a lot of alcohol, now held an air of sadness and the mood was nothing but somber.

Blaine hadn't been close to his father in years. Blaine had taken off to New York to get away from his parents. But there had always been that reassurance that they were out there somewhere. That despite their differences, his father was still out there, breathing; alive. And now the universe was challenging the comfort Blaine took in knowing that his parents were out there.

"Hey," Blaine heard Kurt say next to him, pulling Blaine's attention with a tug on their joined hands, "We should go."

He was gesturing towards himself and Santana but Blaine shook his head and pulled them away from the small crowd that had formed around them.

"Stay," Blaine said looking around. Not everyone seemed to think the party was over, "You can stay. Dance."

"Without you," Kurt shook his head though a smile played on his lips, "your family obviously has a lot to deal with and you don't need us hanging around."

"But, I do," Blaine said feeling vulnerable, exposed but safe admitting it to Kurt.

"And your family needs you," Kurt said, "They don't need the crazy boyfriend and his BBF hanging around."

"What will you do?"

Kurt shrugged, "Don't worry about us. We're probably just going to walk around and then go back to the hotel."

"You sure?" Blaine asked again. He thought about pleading with Kurt. He'd say anything to make Kurt stay by his side. But he was right. The introduction of him to his parents had led his father to a coughing fit. It wasn't fair to ask him to stay though the thought of losing the warmth of Kurt at his side made him shiver.

"Yeah," Kurt said leaning forward and planting a kiss on Kurt's cheek,

"Here," Blaine said reaching in his pocket pulling out his wallet, "Take—"

"No, we're okay," Kurt said putting a hand up to stop Blaine, "Let me know when you're heading back to the hotel."

"Okay," Blaine whispered and then Kurt was gone; his hand, his lips, his presence was missing. He never felt emptier.

* * *

Later that night when Blaine walked into his hotel room he expected to either find both Kurt and Santana inside or for the room to be vacant; both of them in her room instead. But he was pleasantly surprised to find Kurt, in his pajamas, sitting on the bed, alone. It was much too early for him to actually be asleep, but he turned his head away from the television as Blaine came in, a sad smile on his face.

Kurt stood up from the bed and walked over to Blaine and, without a word, wrapped his arms around him, pulling him close. It was like some of the weight that Blaine had been feeling since he'd been informed in the reception hall that his father was dying had been lifted from him. That by hold him in his arms, Kurt was taking on some of the weight so that Blaine didn't have to; so that they could share it. So that he wasn't alone.

Kurt planted a soft kiss on his jaw just below his ear and pulled back enough to look him in the eye, "I won't ask you how you are because it's kind of obvious but what happened after Santana and I came back here?"

Blaine shrugged, "This was my fault. I ruined Cooper's wedding reception because I didn't go to Greenwich to see my family for Memorial Day."

"Blaine, you're not making any sense."

"My parents wanted to tell me and Cooper together. Apparently Cooper was there that weekend but I wasn't."

"Because you were with me."

"It doesn't matter who I was with," Blaine said defeated, "The fact is that they kept it a secret because I wasn't there and now we had to find out in the middle of my brother's wedding reception."

"You shouldn't beat yourself up over this," Kurt said running the back of his fingers along Blaine's cheek.

"What else can I do," Blaine questioned as he shrugged, "It's not like it makes a difference now. It doesn't change anything."

"Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired?" Kurt asked walking back towards the bed; but Blaine gripped his arm before he got too far, pulling Kurt toward him until their bodies collided together, Blaine holding Kurt around the waist to keep him close.

"Dancing," Blaine said as he began to sway them back and forth, "I want to be dancing."

"Dancing," Kurt repeated.

"We never got to dance tonight," Blaine said, "I wanted to dance with you."

"We don't have music," Kurt said.

"We," Blaine said walking over towards the clock radio that sat on the nightstand next to the bed, never letting go of Kurt as he did, "Have the radio. The radio plays music right?"

Blaine flipped the switch on the top of the radio and the sound of some hip hop song came fluttering through the room, "Maybe not," Blaine said quickly hitting the button to change the station, pausing for a moment to hear what was playing. There had to be something appropriate playing on one of these stations. He hit the button one more time, feeling Kurt at his side quietly watching him, and then he found it.

Blaine didn't know what the song was, but it was slow and not necessarily sad, so he straightened up and pulled Kurt against him. He was warm, strong and study but an unbelievable comfort. In that reception hall, Blaine's life turned upside down with a couple of words. But there was one thing that remained constant. Kurt. Blaine had been doing a lot of thinking; mulling his feelings over and over in his head. At some point he'd sat down and thought about all the things that Kurt was: kind, creative, talented, compassionate and then one word crossed his mind that stopped him in his tracks. Love. Blaine had stopped and let the word settle in his chest. It washed warm electricity over him, but didn't startle him. And it didn't make him want to run. He accepted it like it was one of the great truths about civilization.

The song was nearly over when Blaine leaned in, pressing his forehead against Kurt's. They swayed for a second, and then Blaine said it. It was barely a whisper, but it was loud enough for Kurt to hear it. Like it was a secret; a secret made for only Kurt to know.

"_I love you," _Blaine said his heart thumping wildly in his chest.

Blaine heard the hitch in Kurt's breath and felt his arms slide against him and for a moment, fear flashed through Blaine's body. Kurt was rejecting him. Maybe he changed his mind and Kurt didn't really love Blaine. But then he felt Kurt's arms continue to move until they were wrapped around his neck, holding him close, his fingertips playing with the hair at the nap of Blaine's neck.

"I love you too, Blaine," Kurt said then leaned in and set his lips against Blaine's.

Kurt's lips were soft against his, now after being together as long as they had, they were familiar. The kiss was tender; Kurt using his lips to heal the hurt that was still inside Blaine, to give Blaine the comfort he longed for. Blaine accepted that from Kurt, but when he moved his lips against Kurt's there was something more there. It wasn't about comfort. It was about showing Kurt how much he meant to him. It was about doing more than telling Kurt that he loved him, that for the first time in his life he wasn't afraid of letting someone into the part of his life that he kept everyone else away from. But as he kissed Kurt with all the months of pent up passion pouring into Kurt's open mouth and oozing from Blaine's fingers onto Kurt's skin, Blaine knew that if they did this; that thing he'd been longing for since the first night, he wouldn't run. He could be with Kurt tonight and he'd want to wake up with Kurt in the morning and do it all over again. Because while there had been many things that scared Blaine out of relationships before: vulnerability and commitment; the idea of being somewhere without Kurt, even for a minute, was infinitely more terrifying.

"Can we," Blaine questioned looking Kurt directly in his blue eyes.

"You want to?" Kurt questioned and Blaine thought it was the most insane question he'd ever be asked.

"More than anything," Blaine replied.

"Okay," Kurt said and let Blaine pull him toward the bed.

The moment wasn't how either of them had planned it. But it felt right. Because with all the wrong that was happening in Blaine's life, Kurt was the only thing that made sense. And all Blaine wanted to do was be close to Kurt, to be with Kurt. Without him, everything was dark and grey. His dad was dying and the security he'd come to rely on was slowly fading away. But Kurt was there, real and alive and he made Blaine feel like anything was possible. That despite what could happen with his dad, Kurt would be there shining the light that poured from him, guiding Blaine towards the shore. And as he basked in the afterglow it became clear. All those years he'd spent not dating and avoiding the tiniest bit of anything the resembled a relationship, he'd been waiting. He'd been waiting for Kurt to come into his life and open this part of him up so that he could feel love; and so that he could be loved in return.


End file.
